Cambodian American Perspectives

Obama outlines ambitious agenda for 'lasting prosperity'

2009-02-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

President Obama says the United States will overcome its current economic struggles.

CNNPOLITICS.COM

(CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday outlined an ambitious agenda that requires "significant resources," even as he aims to halve the deficit by the end of his first term.

In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, Obama said it's time to act boldly not just to revive the economy, but "to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity."

"While the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater," he said.

The president struck an optimistic tone, asserting that "we will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."

Obama focused on the three priorities of the budget he will present to Congress later this week: energy, health care and education.

The president said he sees his budget as a "vision for America -- as a blueprint for our future," but not something that will solve every problem or address every issue.

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Blagojevich pleads his case at impeachment trial

2009-01-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivers a closing argument at his impeachment trial Thursday

CNNPOLITICS.COM

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (CNN) -- In an attempt to remain in office, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich appeared before state senators in his impeachment trial Thursday, saying he has done "absolutely nothing wrong."

"I'm here to appeal to you, to your sense of fairness, your sense of responsibility, and to the truth," Blagojevich said in a closing address that lasted less than an hour.

It was the first time he had appeared at the impeachment trial, which began Monday.

"I'm asking you to acquit me and give me a chance to show my innocence," he said. "And if you're not comfortable with an acquittal, then extend this process, and get more evidence, if you can get it, to show that I did something wrong or give me a chance to bring my evidence in."

Blagojevich, a two-term Democratic governor, was arrested on federal corruption charges in December.

Federal authorities allege he was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president. After the governor's arrest, the state House voted overwhelmingly to impeach him.

The governor firmly denied wrongdoing Thursday, as he has all week on television talk shows.

"If I felt I did something wrong, I would have resigned in December," he said. "If I felt I violated a law, I would meet my responsibility, I would have resigned in December.

"I wouldn't put my family through this, I wouldn't put you through this, and most importantly, I wouldn't put the people of Illinois through this.

"But I didn't resign then, and I'm not resigning now, because I have done nothing wrong."

The governor, who did not use notes during his remarks, said the allegations against him were unproved.

"There hasn't been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing," he said. "You haven't proved a crime and you can't, because it hasn't happened.

"How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?"

As he did in his television interviews, Blagojevich railed against Senate trial rules that he said unfairly prevented him from presenting witnesses or evidence.

After the governor's address, the Senate recessed for an hour before House prosecutor David Ellis gave a rebuttal to the governor's remarks.

"He could have put himself under oath and faced my questions," Ellis said. "More importantly, much more importantly, faced your questions. But he didn't do that, did he?"

"He talked more about the evidence with Barbara Walters on 'The View' than he did in this chamber today, where he's facing impeachment and removal from office," he said.

Afterward, the Senate again recessed for an hour.

Earlier, in his closing argument, Ellis said the governor has demonstrated an "abuse of power" throughout his tenure as Illinois' chief executive.

"In this trial we have laid out a pattern of abuse of power by Gov. Rod Blagojevich that culminated in his arrest on December 9, 2008," he said.

Speaking beforehand outside the state Senate to reporters, Blagojevich said he wanted to "clear my name and restore the public trust."

"I feel confident. I know the truth of things. I hope I get a fair shot today," he said. "Of course there is [sadness]. That's life. There's moments of triumph and moments of disappointment. I'm not giving up hope."

On Wednesday, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said Blagojevich had asked to be allowed to speak before the chamber.

The chamber will deliberate on whether to remove Blagojevich from office and also whether to bar him from holding future office

Blagojevich has railed against the trial on talk shows this week, calling it unfair and saying it sets a dangerous precedent. He has ignored trial deadlines and presented no evidence in his defense.

He told CNN's Larry King earlier this week that attending the trial "would dignify an impeachment process that's wrong and contrary to every fundamental civil liberty that we as Americans enjoy."

Blagojevich says he's the victim of a plot

2009-01-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says the lieutenant governor and fellow Illinois Democrats are plotting against him.

January 23,2009

CNNPOLITICS.COM

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/23/blagojevich-says-hes-the-victim-of-a-plot/

(CNN) – Impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is speaking out about efforts to oust him from office.

“This is politics,” Blagojevich reportedly told Chicago radio station WLS-AM 890. “This is about raising taxes. [Democratic Lt. Gov.] Pat Quinn has cut a deal with Democratic leaders . . . . It’s all about getting rid of me to raise taxes on people,” Blagojevich also reportedly said.

The embattled governor did not specifically address the charges against him but did apologize for using the profanity captured on federal wiretap recordings of his telephone conversations. “If I knew they were listening, I wouldn’t have used those words,” he reportedly said.

Blagojevich has been under a cloud since U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald revealed a federal corruption investigation into his actions — including an alleged plan to try to exchange an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama for political and other favors.

Despite the charges against him, Blagojevich named former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Obama. Burris was eventually sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois after assuring Democratic leaders that he had not given Blagojevich anything in exchange for the appointment to Obama’s seat.

Blagojevich is currently set to go to trial in the Illinois state Senate after being impeached by the Illinois House.

WLS said Friday that it is prepared to offer Blagojevich his own show if he was willing to resign from office rather than standing for him impeachment trail.

Obama's inaugural speech

2009-01-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

CNNPolitics.com

(CNN) -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.

y fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Obama: Challenges real, but 'they will be met'

2009-01-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama told a crowd at the National Mall that America's challenges are real.

CNNPolitics.COM

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Barack Obama delivered a sobering assessment of where America stands and a hopeful vision of what it can become as he gave his inaugural address as the nation's 44th president.
"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time," Obama told hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in front of the Capitol.

"But know this, America -- they will be met," he said.

He also vowed to end the divisiveness and partisanship he said was rampant through Washington.

"We come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics," he said.
n another allusion to Washington's shortcomings, Obama promised to hold accountable anyone who handles taxpayer dollars.

"And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government."

The new president, who hugged civil rights stalwart Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, on the inaugural stage Tuesday, also hailed the civil rights movement.

"This is the meaning of [America's] liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father, less than 60 years ago, might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath," Obama said.

The address touched on other themes, including a warning to terrorists.

"With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you," the president stated.

Wearing a navy suit and red tie, Obama was sworn in using the same Bible that was used in President Abraham Lincoln's inauguration.

The jubilant crowd became quiet as Obama began his address, with only an occasional "That's right" or "Amen" and scattered applause from the hundreds of thousands in front of him.

Saddleback Church founder Rick Warren delivered the invocation, applauding what he called "a hinge-point in history." Civil rights veteran the Rev. Joseph Lowery gave the benediction.

Aretha Franklin sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee" before Joe Biden was sworn in as vice president.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall -- dancing, singing and vigorously shaking flags -- before Tuesday's swearing-in.

"This is America happening," said Evadey Minott of Brooklyn, New York. "It was prophesized by King that we would have a day when everyone would come together. This is that day. I am excited. I am joyful. It brings tears to my eyes."

Minott was at Lafayette Square near the White House, where Obama and his wife, Michelle, had coffee with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush before heading to Capitol Hill.

The Obamas attended a prayer service earlier at St. John's Episcopal Church to kick off the day of events surrounding Obama's inauguration.

As many as 2 million people were expected to crowd into the area between the Capitol, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.

Gerrard Coles of Norwalk, Connecticut, had staked out a position in front of St. John's.

"Everyone's down here -- hopefully to catch a glimpse of Barack, just for a split second," he said. "I think this was a beautiful thing. It's something I always wanted to do. It's not every day that you get to be a part of history. Rather than just watch it on TV, you actually get to partake in it and you have a story to tell your kids."

Nine-year-old Laura Bruggerman also hoped to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be president. She waited with her mother, Wendy, and father, Jeff, of Bethesda, Maryland, amid an affable crowd that tried to let shorter onlookers and children to the front for better views.

"I want to see Obama. I think that would be really cool. I could tell all of my friends that I got to see him," the youngster said.

Some spectators were more than a mile from the swearing-in ceremony, watching on giant TV screens erected along the National Mall.

The historic event has drawn myriad celebrities and politicians, including actors Dustin Hoffman and Denzel Washington, director Steven Spielberg and former vice presidents Dan Quayle, Al Gore and Walter Mondale.

Former Presidents Clinton, Carter and George H.W. Bush also were in attendance. Clinton and Bush shared an embrace.

Oprah Winfrey and actor Samuel L. Jackson sat on the same row. Winfrey hugged Senate hopeful Caroline Kennedy and later said of the inauguration, "It's behind the dream. We're just here feeling it with the throngs of people. It's amazing grace personified."

After a formal farewell to President Bush and lunch with congressional leaders, Obama will head up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where he and his family will watch the inauguration parade from a reviewing stand. The parade begins at 3:45 p.m. ET.

Organizers have said about 280,000 people can fit into the secure zones around the Capitol and roughly 300,000 into the area around the parade. A mere 28,000 seats are available on Capitol grounds.

The new president and first lady will close the night by attending 10 official inaugural balls.

United States V. Rod R. Blagojevich and John Harris

2008-12-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNDER SEAL
V. CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, and
JOHN HARRIS
I, the undersigned complainant being duly sworn state the following is true and correct to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
Count One
From in or about 2002 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants did, conspire with each other and with others to devise and participate in a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois and the people of the State of Illinois of the honest services of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, in furtherance of which the mails and interstate wire communications would be used, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341,1343, and 1346; all in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1349.

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Clinton wants to be part of Obama's 'exciting adventure'

2008-12-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses the media in Chicago on Monday while President-elect Barack Obama looks on.

CNNPolitics.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton decided to join her one-time rival's team because she wanted to be part of the "greatest adventure of our century," she said Monday after President-elect Barack Obama named her as his nominee for secretary of state.

"President Kennedy once said that engaging the world to meet the threats we face was the greatest adventure of our century," Clinton said during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois, when Obama unveiled his national security team. "Well, Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century."

Clinton said she would work to restore America's position as "a force for positive change" in the world.

"America is a place founded on the idea that everyone should have the right to live up to his or her God-given potential. And it is that same ideal that must guide America's purpose in the world today," she said.

During the news conference, Obama called Clinton a woman of "extraordinary intelligence and toughness" who will "command respect in every capital."

"Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances," Obama said.

Speculation that Obama would appoint his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination to the nation's top diplomatic post surfaced after the two meet secretly in Chicago in mid-November.

When Clinton's name was first mentioned for secretary of state, the Obama team reviewed the relationships her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had forged as part of his charitable foundation work. The Obama team was concerned that the relationships could create conflicts of interest.

To address those concerns, the former president agreed to disclose the names of the more than 200,000 donors to his presidential foundation, a move he had previously resisted, Obama aides told CNN on Sunday.

He also agreed to separate his work with the Clinton Global Initiative from his foundation work and submit the text of future speeches and other activities to State Department officials for review, the Obama aides said.

In a statement, President Clinton said he was "deeply proud" that Obama has chosen his wife to be secretary of state.

"She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities," he said.

During the presidential campaign, Obama and Clinton traded tough statements on foreign policy, but, now, Obama and Clinton will be in the same administration, albeit one led by Obama.

In a now famous ad that showed a telephone ringing at 3 a.m., Clinton challenged Obama's readiness to handle foreign policy crises. Later, Obama questioned Clinton's argument that she had more foreign policy experience.

But during the news conference, Obama dismissed any lingering resentment between himself and Clinton as a result of the tough campaign.

Clinton and the other members of the national security team "would not have agreed to join my administration -- and I would not have asked them to be part of this administration -- unless we shared a core vision of what's needed to keep the American people safe and to assure prosperity here at home and peace abroad," he said.

Obama said there was not a "light bulb moment" when he decided to ask Clinton to be his secretary of state but would not reveal details on the talks that led up to him asking his former rival to join his team.

"I have always admired Sen. Clinton. We have worked together extensively in the Senate," Obama said.

"After the election was over and I began to think about my team, it occurred to me that she could potentially be an outstanding secretary of state," he said. "I extended her the offer, and she accepted. I know that's not as juicy a story as you were hoping for, but that's all you are going to get."

Clinton will also be working with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whom Obama asked to stay on when he takes office.

Gates was responsible for implementing an increase in troop strength in Iraq that both Obama and Clinton criticized while on the campaign trail. He will now, however, work to implement the drawdown of troops in Iraq that the president-elect promised during the campaign.

After announcing Clinton and the rest of his national security team, Obama said he was sure that team members shared "a core vision of what's needed to keep the American people safe," but he also wanted "strong personalities and strong opinions" in his administration.

"I think that's how the best decisions are made," Obama said. "One of the dangers in the White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in groupthink, and everybody agrees with everything, and there is no discussion and there are no dissenting views."

CNN's Scott J. Anderson, Ed Henry and Kristi Keck contributed to this report.

Is Pakistan Obama's Cambodia?

2008-11-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

CDI Center For Defense Information

November 18, 2008

"Perils of Pakistan" was first published by National Journal on Nov. 17, 2008; the original is available by clicking here, and the text is reproduced below.

"Perils of Pakistan"

by George C. Wilson

President-elect Obama has committed himself to stepping up the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. It is not an overstatement to say that he will risk his whole presidency, and perhaps even unwittingly put nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists who might use them to attack the United States, if he leaps too far into neighboring Pakistan in pursuit of elusive victory.

The rub, as the Vietnam and Iraq wars showed us all, is unintended consequences. Our military leaders can, and almost certainly will, make a strong case to Obama that there is no way to defeat the Taliban and their allied tribes in Afghanistan without cleaning out their sanctuaries just over the Afghan border in Pakistan.

I can hear frustrated U.S. commanders on the ground in Afghanistan making the same kind of argument to Obama’s team tomorrow that I heard yesterday in Vietnam when I was a combat correspondent there.

I could empathize with this lament, for example, that I heard in 1968 from a 9th Division infantry battalion commander, whose mission was to rid his area — South Vietnam’s rice bowl, the Delta — of the stealthy Viet Cong guerrillas:
“I can have my kids chase the Viet Cong all day and all night. But whenever they catch up to a good number of them, they just run over the border into Cambodia where we can’t go. All I’m really doing down here is buying time with my kids’ lives for the diplomats to settle this thing.”

His was among the impressive military arguments I heard for either invading Cambodian border sanctuaries or getting the United States out of the otherwise unwinnable Vietnam War.

President Lyndon Johnson resisted invading Cambodia. He had concluded that this would only widen the war, infuriating an already skeptical Congress. Early on in Johnson’s presidency he confided to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, but not the public, that he saw the war as a no-win. Secret tapes of Johnson’s conversations, since made public, document him saying this to McNamara on Feb. 26, 1965: “I don’t think anything is going to be as bad as losing, and I don’t see any way of winning.”

His successor, Richard Nixon, who took office in 1969 after the Vietnam War had ruined Johnson’s presidency, including his dream of building a Great Society, rushed into Cambodia where Johnson had feared to tread.

First, Nixon authorized, without telling the public, secret bombings of Cambodia, which had tried to stay neutral. Then on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced he had ordered the invasion of Cambodia with U.S. and South Vietnamese troops to “clean out” the enemy’s border sanctuaries.

Now think “Pakistan” to hear the same ring. Four days later — on May 4, 1970 — National Guardsmen killed four student anti-war protesters on the campus of Kent State in Ohio.

Those two events, coming right on top of each other, mobilized anti-war lawmakers in Congress to curb the president’s war-making powers and to cut off the money the South Vietnamese army needed to continue fighting the war after U.S. troops left the field under Nixon’s Vietnamization strategy.

The military defeat Johnson had feared all along, without saying so publicly, came in 1975 when Communist North Vietnam conquered capitalist South Vietnam.

Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia, even though his announced purpose was just to clean out the border sanctuaries, contributed to Cambodia’s political turmoil.

The invaders also failed to achieve the military objective of finding and destroying the Communist headquarters in Cambodia known as COSVN for Central Office for South Vietnam.

The Communist Khmer Rouge in the aftermath of the invasion toppled the pro-American leader of the country, Lon Nol, and wiped out the upper classes in a bloodbath that some reports estimated murdered 2 million Cambodians. Again, unintended consequences.

Fast forward to Pakistan today. President Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Benazir Bhutto, a Muslim moderate who was assassinated in December while campaigning in parliamentary elections, is already complaining about U. S. military strikes against alleged al Qaida and Taliban targets in Pakistan’s border regions.

An American-led ground invasion of Pakistan under the same “clean out” rationale Nixon used could cause such political turmoil that the bad guys might get their hands on one or more of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates Pakistan has at least 60 nuclear weapons.

Imagine a worst case scenario of terrorists sneaking just one nuke into New York City and setting it off at lunch hour. Thousands of people could be incinerated, skyscrapers toppled and the air poisoned for years.

The Bush administration, Congress and the media have been rightly faulted for not worst-casing the American invasion of Iraq before it was ordered in 2003. History warns that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Obama needs to look long and hard at the worst unintended consequences of leaping into Pakistan. While he’s at it, the new president should consider what would happen if U. S. forces captured or killed Osama bin Laden. Osama’s deputies would feel compelled to retaliate against the United States in a spectacular way. Does Obama want another 9/11? Better to keep American fingerprints off the deed if it is done.

Bill Clinton could pose Cabinet problem

2008-11-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

CNN Politics.com

By Alexander Mooney
CNN
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton's international business dealings, global foundation and penchant for going off script could present a significant obstacle to Hillary Clinton becoming secretary of state, observers say.

On the one hand, his established relationships with world leaders could instantly make the New York senator a welcome face in embassies around the world.

On the other, his complicated global business interests could present future conflicts of interest that result in unneeded headaches for the incoming commander-in-chief.

"These are issues that I'm sure are being discussed, and they will have to be worked out, and it's legitimate to ask these questions," said James Carville, a former aide to the Clintons and CNN contributor.

Two officials with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team confirm to CNN that it is investigating Bill Clinton's finances and post-presidential dealings. As part of the early vetting process, the team is looking for any negative information that could throw the prospect of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state into jeopardy.

A particular issue could be the donor list of Bill Clinton's global foundation, which might show connections to international figures who push policies that might conflict with those of the new Obama administration.

Obama last week asked Clinton if she would consider being his secretary of state, multiple sources told CNN. Clinton's response is expected this week.

Since exiting the Oval Office eight years ago, Clinton has reportedly raised more than $500 million for the foundation, a significant portion of which financed the construction of his presidential library. The foundation has also doled out millions for AIDS relief in Africa and other charitable causes around the world.

Amid repeated criticism from Sen. Clinton's primary opponents, Bill Clinton would not reveal the extent of the foundation's donor list earlier this year. But The New York Times has reported the list includes some foreign governments, including members of the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a fund connected to the United Arab Emirates, and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar.

The former president has also reportedly solicited funds from international business figures connected to human rights abuses that his wife has outwardly criticized, including the governments of Kazakhstan and China.

During the New York senator's White House bid, critics repeatedly said that foreign governments and business executives could try to exert influence through donations to the foundation, prompting a pledge from the former president to publicly disclose all future donors.

Observers say the same criticism is likely to be raised should Hillary Clinton become secretary of state, especially if countries she is dealing with on the diplomatic stage have at the same time donated heavily to her husband.

The matter could be complicated even further if it remains unclear exactly which foreign governments are supporting Clinton's foundation and to what extent. On Monday, Politico reported that Obama's team is seeking more information about the former president's finances and is growing frustrated over the Clinton camp's response.

The Obama officials disputed the Politico report, but confirmed the transition team is seeking unspecified records from the former president to get a better handle on issues related to his foundation work and presidential library to try to deal with potential conflicts of interest.

Also at issue is the former president's role in general should his wife become secretary of state. Since leaving office, Bill Clinton has become a globetrotter of sorts, amassing millions in speaking fees as he gives talks before corporations around the world.

The Obama administration would probably seek to curtail that practice amid worries that the former president's words could contradict those of his wife at times and make unclear to some just who is speaking for the United States government. But it's unlikely that Clinton, who has always enjoyed the spotlight, would be willing to retreat from the public eye.

"She really has to sit down with her husband and work through where does this leave him," said David Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN who worked in Clinton's White House. "After all, he's very deeply involved in the Clinton Global Initiative, doing good around the world. Could he continue to do that? Would he have to shut it down? Could he take money from people? There are lots of secondary questions."

Even more problematic could be the former president's history of going decidedly off message during speeches and his willingness to blatantly speak his mind seemingly without regard for the political fallout.

During her presidential bid last year, Sen. Clinton at times publicly criticized her husband for things he said on the campaign trail, and in one particularly embarrassing moment for the campaign, she told him to "knock it off."

But ultimately, the duty of keeping the former president in check may fall to the New York senator should she assume the top diplomatic post.

"If he doesn't stay on script, she's going to have to discipline him, just like she did in the campaign," said Gloria Borger, a CNN senior political analyst.

"It won't be up to Obama, it will be up to her."

Cambodia probes chopper crash that killed police chief

2008-11-09T22:46:00.001-08:00

AFP

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian authorities on Monday pledged to investigate a helicopter crash that killed the country's powerful top policeman, amid conflicting reports about the doomed craft's last moments.

Chief of police Hok Lundy died along with deputy army commander Sok Sa Em and two pilots on Sunday evening when their chopper went down in bad weather shortly after taking off from Phnom Penh airport.

"There will be an immediate investigation of the cause of the crash," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, without providing further details.

Ministry of interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that "in general, the crash was caused by bad weather" but there were witness reports that the tail of the helicopter may have hit something on its way down and caught fire.

"According to eyewitnesses, there was a fire on the tail of the helicopter before the crash, but this is not the official reason for the crash," Khieu Sopheak said.

Hok Lundy had been a close associate of Prime Minister Hun Sen for nearly three decades, and one of his daughters is married to one of the premier's sons.

Born in 1950 and a former governor of southeastern Svay Rieng province, where the crash occurred, Hok Lundy was appointed national police chief in 1994.

He was routinely criticised by international organisations for alleged human rights abuses and corruption within his force, and last year Human Rights Watch said Hok Lundy "represents the absolute worst that Cambodia has to offer."

The police chief was accused of involvement in drug trafficking and politically motivated killings, including a 1997 grenade attack against anti-government demonstrators that killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 120 others.

However, he was also praised by US officials for cooperation in counter-terrorism.

Human rights groups protested a decision to allow him a visa to the United States last year for counter-terrorism talks with the FBI.

The State Department had refused him a visa in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

Before leaving for his trip last year, Hok Lundy said the allegations against him were cooked up by his political opponents.

"The US government thinks that I am a good law enforcement leader," he told local media.

Emanuel accepts chief of staff offer, aide says

2008-11-06T12:05:00.001-08:00

CNN Politics.COM

CNN) -- Rep. Rahm Emanuel has accepted Barack Obama's offer to be White House chief of staff, according to a Democratic aide.

The Office of the Chief of Staff oversees and coordinates activities and communication among various departments of the administration.

Emanuel helped lead Democrats to majority control of the House in 2006. He was elected to the House in 2002 and is the fourth-highest-ranking member of the chamber's Democratic leadership.

He also worked on President Clinton's first presidential campaign and served as a White House adviser to Clinton.

Emanuel choked up as he said how glad he is his parents are alive to see him become chief of staff for a "historic figure."

Emanuel had earlier said that he was honored to be considered for the position, but had a lot to think about on a personal level.

"I have a lot to weigh: the basis of public service, which I've given my life to, a career choice. But, most importantly, what I want to do as a parent," he told Chicago's WLS-TV in an interview that aired Wednesday.

Obama is also expected to announce his press secretary pick, as early as Thursday afternoon, and observers believe it will be Robert Gibbs, the communications director for his presidential campaign.

Gibbs said to say he has been offered the job is a report "ahead of itself."

Obama will hold a news conference Friday, his first since winning the election Tuesday, an Obama transition official said.

He may announce key administrative appointments, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing Obama's plans. Obama also is expected to take questions from reporters, the official said.

Obama was considering who will be on his transition team long before Tuesday's election declared him the nation's leader, and several Republicans were on the short list.

Obama is thinking about bringing GOP Sens. Chuck Hagel and Dick Lugar on board, according to sources close to the president-elect.

Hagel, R-Nebraska, is a Vietnam War veteran and fierce critic of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war.

Lugar, R-Indiana, is minority leader of the Foreign Relations Committee and worked with Obama last year to expand a program aimed at destroying weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union.

Also, the sources say Obama is considering adding Robert Gates -- President Bush's defense secretary -- to his national security team.

Obama on Wednesday met with key advisers and began making decisions about his transition team.

Joe Biden, the vice president-elect, said a "sense of excitement" surrounds the transition.

"Yesterday we really did, five of us in a room, seven of us in a room, really actually [begin] to put together a government," Biden said Thursday.

"We've thought a lot about it but it was the first time ... we actually started talking about names and places and organizations."

Bush said Thursday that he and Obama will meet "early next week."

John Podesta, a former chief of staff under Clinton, is among those leading Obama's transition team. Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's top advisers, and Peter Rouse, Obama's Senate chief of staff, are also involved in the effort.

Obama will begin publicizing "the steps that he'll be taking to get prepared to lead on January 20," Jarrett said shortly after Obama gave his victory speech.

Filling out his economic team is a top priority for Obama as he begins to implement a strategy to quell the economic crisis. See the candidates

"This is one of the first times that I can remember that the secretary of the treasury is going to be almost as important as the secretary of state," said CNN senior political analyst David Gergen, who served in the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday that he looks forward to a "smooth" transition.

"I congratulate Sen. Obama on the election and look forward to working with his team to ensure that there is a smooth and effective transition.

"A methodical and orderly transition is in the best interests of the financial markets and Treasury is committed to making sure that the incoming team can hit the ground running in January," he said in a statement.

Names circulating for the secretary of the treasury position include Timothy Geithner, Lawrence Summers and Paul Volcker, among others.

Geithner helped deal with Wall Street's financial meltdown earlier this year, overseeing the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase and the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers. He was appointed president of the New York Federal Reserve in November 2003.

Summers was appointed treasury secretary in July 1999 and served as the chief economist of the World Bank from 1991 through 1993. Before his career in government, he taught economics at Harvard.

Volcker is a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving under Presidents Carter and Reagan. He also worked in the private sector as an investment banker and headed the investigation into the United Nations' oil-for-food program for Iraq.

The White House is holding an economic summit November 15. Obama could delay naming his economic team to avoid interfering with the G-20 summit.

Obama's national security team is another priority as the country fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It could also be an area where he goes outside his party for an appointee.

Hagel and Gates are both being considered.

Gates has served in Bush's Cabinet for almost two years. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years, serving as its director from 1991 through 1993. He also served as deputy national security adviser under President George H. W. Bush.

Priceless Moments

2008-10-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

Op-Ed by Jayakhmer

First posted at www.modernprogressivekhmer.blogspot.com

The price of government bailed out of Wall Street - $700 billion; a record fund raising between Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain – over $684 million; the Dow Jones index drops for the first time in years- below 9000 points; the price tag for Gov. Palin war drops for the campaign - $150,000.00; and seeing democracy in action - priceless!!!

Recent economic and political developments in the U.S. provide ample priceless moments for democracy enthusiasts. As a Cambodian American who longs to see democracy flourishes in Cambodia, I am looking for learnable moments. Here are a few precious events that highlight the beauty of American democracy and its politics.

The system of checks and balances was truly at play when the U.S. tried to deal with the liquidity crisis. As the head of the executive branch, President George W. Bush could not demand nor order but had to work extremely hard with Congress to approve the bailout. When the House of Representative failed to muster enough votes to pass the bill, the president was completely powerless. Otherwise, he is one of the most powerful men on the face of the free world. It took Congress twice to pass the bill.

Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving senator from Alaska was indicted for a crime and now is standing a trial for corruption charges.

He is facing a seven-count indictment charges for making false statement by not disclosing gifts and services more than $250,000 from VECO Corp. that violated “the Federal Ethics in Government Act requires all senators to file financial disclosure statements detailing their transactions during the previous calendar year, including the disclosure of gifts above a specified value and all liabilities greater than $10,000.”

After leveling charges and counter charges against each other in one of the most exciting and contentious elections, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. McCain took time off from their busy schedules to attend Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. They spent a wonderful evening ridiculed and poked fun of themselves and each other.

Sen. Obama noted the significant of the event, “I think it is a tribute to American democracy that with two weeks left and a hard fought election, the two of us could come together, and sit down at the same dinner table without preconditions.’’

Sen. McCain called Sen. Obama “an impressive follow” and wished his opponent “well.”

Here I am in America witnessing democracy in action. The mere fact that simple ideas such as checks and balances, no one is above the law, and civility in politics continues to reinforces American democracy and it politics makes it the most envious system in the world.

I certainly hope that we, Cambodians, learn a thing or two from these priceless moments.

Powell endorses Obama for president

2008-10-19T14:36:00.001-07:00

MSBC.Com

Republican ex-secretary of state calls Democrat ‘transformational figure’

WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for president on Sunday, criticizing his own Republican Party for what he called its narrow focus on irrelevant personal attacks over a serious approach to challenges he called unprecedented.

Powell, who for many years was considered the most likely candidate to become the first African-American president, said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he was not supporting Obama because of his race. He said he had watched both Obama and his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, for many months and thought “either one of them would be a good president.”

But he said McCain’s choices in the last few weeks — especially his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his vice presidential running mate — had raised questions in his mind about McCain’s judgment.

“I don’t believe [Palin] is ready to be president of the United States,” Powell said flatly. By contrast, Obama’s running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, “is ready to be president on day one.”

Powell also said he was “troubled” by Republican personal attacks on Obama, especially false intimations that Obama was Muslim and Republicans’ recent focus on Obama’s alleged connections to William Ayers, the founder of the radical ’60 Weather Underground.

Stressing that Obama was a lifelong Christian, Powell denounced Republican tactics that he said were insulting not only to to Obama but also to Muslims.

“The really right answer is what if he is?” Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.

“I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me,” Powell said. “Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower.”

In an interview Sunday on Fox News, McCain said he was not surprised by the announcement.

“I’ve always admired and respected General Powell,” said McCain, who cited the endorsements he had received from former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, James Baker and Lawrence Eagleburger. “We have a respectful disagreement.”

Bolstering Obama’s international credentials
Powell, a retired Army general who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush before becoming secretary of state in the current administration, is one of the most highly decorated military officers of modern times and an admired figure in both parties. The Obama campaign is likely to cite the endorsement as an answer to critics and undecided voters who have questioned the foreign policy credential of Obama, a first-term senator whose national experience amounts to four years in the Senate.

Powell said a major part of his decision to turn his back on his own party was his conclusion that Obama was the better option to repair frayed U.S. relations with allies overseas.

“This is the time for outreach,” Powell said, saying the next president would have to “reach out and show the world there is a new administration that is willing to reach out.”

In particular, he said, he welcomed Obama’s president to “talk to people we haven’t talked to,” a reference to Obama’s controversial statement that he would be open to direct diplomacy with Iranian leaders.

“I think that [Obama] has a definite way of doing business that will serve us well,” Powell said.

Won’t campaign for Obama
As recently as a month ago, Powell said that electing an African-American president would be “electrifying” for the world but that he remained undecided. The unsteadiness of the Republican campaign in recent weeks, especially on the economic crisis, went a long way toward pushing him off the fence, he said.

“It isn’t easy for me to disappoint Senator McCain as I have this morning,” said Powell, who emphasized that he would not campaign for Obama because of his admiration for McCain’s long record of service in the military and in Congress.

But as he examined both campaigns in the last few weeks, he said, he became “concerned” that “in the case of Mr. McCain, he was a little unsure how to deal with the economic problems.”

“Every day, there was a different approach,” he said, adding that he also “would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court.”

McCain would be a good president, Powell said, but Obama is “a transformational figure” who would be an “exceptional” leader.

“I truly believe that at this point in America’s history we need a president who will not just continue ... basically the policies we have followed in recent years,” he said. “We need a president with transformational qualities.”

For that reason, he said, “I will be voting for Barack Obama.”

Palin praises Joe the Plumber for ruining Obama's 'photo-op'

2008-10-18T13:52:00.001-07:00

Palin campaigned in Pennsylvania Saturday.

CNN Politics.com

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Sarah Palin invoked Joe "the Plumber" once again on Saturday in Pennsylvania, needling Barack Obama for having a “staged photo-op” interrupted by a voter asking him “a simple, a straightforward question” about taxes.

“So when he left Joe’s neighborhood in Toledo, our opponent didn’t look real happy,” Palin said of Obama. “Seems that the staged photo-op there got ruined by a real person’s question. So here’s a guy working—standing there in his neighborhood when a candidate for president shows up and he wanted more than just a handshake and a campaign button. He wanted some answers.”

If that scenario sounds familiar, it’s because Palin faced a similar moment on September 27 in Philadelphia at one of her own photo-ops, when Temple graduate student Michael Rovito approached the governor at a cheesesteak shop to ask her opinions on cross-border raids into Pakistan to hunt terrorists.

Palin told Rovito the United States should “absolutely” attack within Pakistan to stop terrorists, a position at odds with McCain’s. The remark was picked up by a network camera crew and caused a headache for the GOP ticket, who were forced to explain their apparently conflicting views in a national television interview days later.

At the rally in Lancaster on Saturday, Palin said that Joe Wurzelbacher, “bless his heart,” is being “investigated” and “attacked” because the Obama campaign didn’t appreciate him asking Obama a question about his tax plan.

Though Pennsylvania is trending in the Democrats’ favor, Palin was campaigning in the heart of the state’s 16th congressional district, which went to President Bush by a nearly 30-point margin 2004.

In another reminder that the campaign is actively promoting Palin’s feminine qualities while on the stump, the vice presidential candidate took the stage to Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely?,” a departure from the usual campaign theme song, Shania Twain’s “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face.”

Filed under: Sarah Palin

McCain, Obama go head to head in last debate

2008-10-16T08:55:00.001-07:00

Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain debate face to face Wednesday night.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) -- Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Barack Obama faced off at Hofstra University Wednesday night in their last debate before Election Day. Bob Schieffer of CBS was the moderator. Here is a transcript of the debate.

Click here to read more...

McCain Threw the Sink — and Plumber — But Obama Doesn't Falter

2008-10-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain participate in the third and final Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead October 15, 2008
Callie Shell / Aurora for TIME

TIME.COM

Only a cynic would dismiss a Presidential debate as a mere television show. You would have to be naïve, though, to ignore the drama of these events. Two people enter the arena, Only one emerges as the protagonist of our national life-also known as The President.

For the first 30 minutes of last night's final debate, a sharper, more spirited John McCain took on Barack Obama. He had a clear message of low taxes and smaller government. He targeted an equally clear-cut audience: Joe the Plumber. (A real guy, who must be dodging every local news crew with 100 miles today.) McCain-henpecked by an incumbent he never liked, a dire economy he can't control and a newcomer with less baggage than the Tooth Fairy-suddenly seemed free from worry. He remembers his years as the leading man in those dramatic episodes of yesteryear-campaign finance reform, the Gang of 14-and he was glad to reprise his role as The Fighter. For the first time since the Republican convention (just six weeks ago, though to him it must feel like years) John McCain was in control of the narrative.

The problem for McCain is that no matter how hard or how crisply he punched, it could not last. In the end, the gravity of the debate returned to Barack Obama. The turning point was when McCain finally brought up the issue of Obama's ties to former the anti-Vietnam War terrorist William Ayers. All he accomplished was to swing the spotlight from himself back to the engaging newcomer. Predictably, Obama had a mild answer ready-as straightforward and uncontroversial as it was soothing. Was it entirely candid? Who asks that of Cary Grant?

When moderator Bob Schieffer encouraged the two men to air their grievances against one another, all the drama hung around Obama the Imperturbable. "I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings. . I don't mind being attacked for the next three weeks. What we can't afford is four more years of the same failed economic policies."

Obama had regained control of the story.

If you look at the sweep of this election year, you can see how everything funnels down to the basic question of Barack Obama. This is a "change" year if ever there was one. McCain can't help it that fewer than 10% of Americans believe the country is on the right track-the lowest number since polls were invented.

So McCain tried in the final debate to say that his own brand of change is good change. A tough move. The hardest thing in politics is for the incumbent party to run on change. Remarkably, it was the end of the last debate when McCain remembered to mention that the Democrats have controlled Congress for the past two years.

Mostly he tried to say that Obama-change is dangerous. Across the table, there sat Obama, looking not very dangerous. And thanks to a very long, very hard year on the campaign trail, Obama sported a motley crop of gray hair; perhaps for the first time, he even looked the part of a president.

Which happens to be his strong suit. Through four and a half hours of high-stakes presidential debating, Barack Obama never looked unprepared, even for an instant. He looked slippery now and then-they all do. He looked boring sometimes. He even seemed to strive for boring, to understand that boring is good for the candidate in the lead.

But dangerous?

Not judging from the polls.

Consider two parallel graphs. One tracks the stock market through the past two weeks. Stamp it in steel and you could cut down a redwood with it. It's a jagged picture of uncertainty and confusion.

The next graph charts the presidential race. For the past two weeks it has been nearly flat. Gallup's daily tracking poll, for instance, has been remarkably stable. Every day for two weeks, Obama has been within one-and-a-half points of his average, while McCain has been within a single point of his.

Perhaps the only stable thing in American today is the presidential race. Through one of the most dramatic months in our economic history-and through four widely watched debates-the markets have plunged and bungeed. Ayers and Palin and a dozen other mini-dramas flared and guttered. And the gap remains steady between the man who dominates the discussion and the man who wants to shake it up.

This year's debates were good. Lots of voters watched them. And yet they seemed almost evanescent. What will be remembered, apart from Sarah Palin's enormous winks? McCain wanted to change a deadly fact that has threatened to crush his campaign from the beginning: He's a Republican loaded with the baggage of George W. Bush. He had to re-write the script. Barack Obama? All he's had to do is read the one that was written.

Election 2008

2008-10-15T06:06:00.000-07:00

Gallup

Please click...

Stakes high as Obama, McCain head for final debate

2008-10-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., makes a campaign stop at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa., Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008. Associated Press © 2008

from The Associated Press

Falling behind in the polls, Republican candidate John McCain hopes to shake up the presidential race tonight in his final debate with Democrat Barack Obama, who will be looking to close the deal with voters unhappy with the country's direction.

Both are likely to emphasize pocketbook issues, a burning concern as financial institutions wobble and voters feel the pinch of a faltering economy. Each released proposals this week for how to boost the economy.

Wednesday night's debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., is slated to focus entirely on the economy and domestic policy. The candidates will be seated at a table with moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS.

With the economic crisis fueling public unease, Obama has built leads nationally and in key states as the turmoil has returned the nation's focus to the policies of the unpopular President Bush. The burden now is on McCain to try to reverse his slide.

To that end, the Arizona senator took a new approach this week, positioning himself as a fighter for the American middle class and easing off his most direct attacks on Obama, an Illinois senator. McCain also took pains to separate himself from Bush.

"We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change. ... As president I intend to act, quickly and decisively," McCain said Tuesday in battleground Pennsylvania.

He announced a $52.5 billion economic plan Tuesday that calls for halving the tax rate on capital gains and reducing the tax on withdrawals from retirement accounts, among other measures. A day earlier, Obama unveiled a $60 billion proposal that includes an extension of unemployment benefits, a 90-day freeze on home foreclosures, penalty-free withdrawals from retirement funds and a $3,000 tax credit for each new job.

Both candidates call for doing away with the tax on unemployment benefits.

McCain has suggested that he is likely to bring up Obama's links to William Ayers, a radical during the Vietnam War era. Ayers was a member of the violent Weather Underground group but later became a university professor in Chicago and an expert on education. He and Obama both worked with some of the same charity foundations in Chicago, and Ayers hosted a reception for Obama when he first ran for the Illinois state Senate.

"We're always prepared for him to be hyperaggressive in his attacks," Obama campaign aide Robert Gibbs said of McCain. "I just think that doesn't work in an environment where so many people are concerned about the issues in front of them, not scare tactics they don't see as helping to pay the bills."

He said Obama will try to project an aura of calm leadership during the debate, which Gibbs said he achieved in two previous debates with McCain.

Obama's campaign also has taken some shots at McCain, increasingly labeling him "erratic" and "lurching" for solutions to the economic crisis. The words suggest unsteadiness by the four-term senator, who is 72.

Polls conducted after the earlier debates found that more people thought Obama had won both.

Meanwhile, McCain has had trouble finding support among swing voters. A recent Associated Press-GfK Poll showed independents about evenly divided between the two candidates, which is problematic for McCain because registered Democrats decisively outnumber registered Republicans this year.

———

Gallup Daily: Obama’s Lead Over McCain Expands to 11

2008-10-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

Gallup

PRINCETON, NJ -- The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking report shows Barack Obama with a 52% to 41% lead over John McCain.

These results, based on Oct. 5-7 polling, are the best for Obama during the campaign, both in terms of his share of the vote and the size of his lead over McCain. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

Nearly all interviews in today's report were conducted before Tuesday night's town hall style debate in Nashville. Any movement in voter preferences as a result of this debate will be apparent in coming days.

Voter preferences seem to have stabilized for the moment, as Obama has held a double-digit lead over McCain in each of the last three individual nights of polling.

Concern about the economy seems to be playing to Obama's advantage; he overtook McCain when the financial crisis worsened in the middle of September, and his strong showing today coincides with the worst rating of the economy this year (59% of Americans describe current economic conditions as "poor"). -- Jeff Jones

Survey Methods

For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.

The general-election results are based on combined data from Oct. 5-7, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,747 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

McCain, Obama Clash Over Economic Crisis

2008-10-08T08:50:00.001-07:00

NPR

by Corey Flintoff

Questions about the economy and the global financial crisis dominated much of the early going in the second presidential debate between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

The candidates grappled with the mortgage crisis, taxes, spending, health care and entitlement programs before moving to skirmish more briefly on foreign policy and security issues.

Although the matchup followed several days of escalating negative attacks from both campaigns, it was relatively civil, with the blows focused mostly on policies.

Pocketbook Concerns

Under the debate's town-hall-style format, the presidential candidates faced questions directly from the audience at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., as well as queries submitted on the Internet. The very first question went straight to voters' anxieties about the financial crisis: What would the candidates do to protect retired and older citizens who are losing their incomes?

Obama opened with a swing at "the failed economic policies of the last eight years" — policies that he has tried to link to McCain. While he called the $700 billion financial rescue package passed last week a first step, Obama said his plan would extend assistance to the middle class, including tax cuts and measures to keep homeowners in their homes.

McCain said his plan would include promoting energy independence so the U.S. could "stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us" — a reference to U.S. purchases of oil from hostile countries. He also announced a new plan to assist homeowners, saying he would order the secretary of the Treasury "to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America" and renegotiate the payments based on the diminished value of the homes.

The proposal goes beyond the bailout package approved by Congress last week. Obama has said in the past that the idea should be studied, and his campaign has said that McCain's proposal was not new.

Economic Blame Game

Each candidate tried to tie the other to the causes of the financial crisis, with McCain accusing Obama "and his cronies and his friends in Washington" of encouraging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make "all these risky loans."

Obama countered that he had not promoted the mortgage giants, but that McCain's campaign chairman's firm had lobbied on behalf of Fannie Mae. He accused McCain of promoting deregulation of the financial industry, letting the markets "run wild" with the claim that "prosperity would rain down on all of us. It didn't happen."

A key question at Tuesday night's presidential debate addressed voters' loss of trust in the major political parties. Audience member Teresa Finch asked, "How can we trust either of you with our money when both parties got us into this global economic crisis?"

Obama responded that there was more than enough blame to go around, before pointing the finger squarely at the Bush administration's policies. Still, the Illinois Democrat said he would increase spending on some priorities, such as energy independence and college affordability, while achieving "a net spending cut."

McCain repeated his mantra that he has been a consistent reformer who has taken on special interests, calling on voters to "look at our records as well as our rhetoric." The Arizona Republican charged that Obama's plan calls for $860 billion in new spending.

On Health Care, Social Security And Medicare

Moderator Tom Brokaw sharpened one audience member's question on entitlement reform by asking whether the candidates would set a hard deadline — say, within two years — for Congress to reform Social Security and Medicare. Obama said he would seek reform within his first term as president but said entitlement reforms couldn't be addressed without addressing tax policy.

McCain responded that "it's not that hard to fix Social Security." He said the crisis could be solved with bipartisan action, but he didn't offer specifics. He said fixing Medicare would be tougher, and he called for a commission of "the smartest people in America" to come up with a plan that Congress would not be able to amend, but simply vote up or down on.

In the course of a skirmish on health care, Obama charged that his opponent's plan would lead to the destruction of employer-based health care. He said McCain's proposal to give people a refundable tax credit for coverage would be wiped out by the fact that McCain would also tax health benefits that workers receive from their employers. McCain's plan would give $2,500 in tax credits per person, or $5,000 per household.

McCain said Obama's plan would impose government mandates and would fine small-business owners who fail to insure their employees, although in fact, small businesses would be exempt under the Democrat's plan. McCain said his plan would allow Americans to spend their tax credit on the health care of their choice.

On Iraq And Humanitarian Intervention

When the topic switched to foreign policy and national security concerns, moderator Brokaw asked the candidates what their doctrine would be for the use of U.S. combat forces in the case of a humanitarian crisis where U.S. national security was not at stake.

Obama responded that issues such as genocide and ethnic cleansing should be considered to be part of U.S. national interests, and that the nation should intervene where possible. He said it would be necessary to work in concert with American allies and that as president, he would mobilize U.S. allies to take action in areas such as Darfur.

McCain took the occasion to criticize Obama's record on Iraq, saying that if the U.S. had heeded Obama's call to set a date for withdrawal, the result would have been disaster.

Regarding humanitarian interventions, McCain said he would approach such actions with caution. He noted that some past U.S. interventions had made the situation worse — in Lebanon during the Reagan era and in Somalia during the Clinton administration.

Pondering Attacks Along Pakistan's Border

An audience member asked whether the candidates would attack across borders, as in Pakistan, in order to chase U.S. enemies such as Osama bin Laden. Obama said that if Pakistan is unable or unwilling to hunt down bin Laden and "take him out," then the U.S. should go after him.

As he has in the past, McCain accused Obama of naivete for announcing an intended cross-border attack. He said he believes that the same counterinsurgency techniques that have worked in Iraq will work in Pakistan, adding, "I know how to get bin Laden. I'll get him," but he said he wasn't going to announce his intentions.

The final question of the night was one that moderator Brokaw described as "zen." An Internet participant asked, "What don't you know, and how will you learn it?" Neither candidate answered the question directly, but it offered them a chance to define themselves in terms of the presidency, and they took it, along with the chance to insert elements of their own personal stories.

Obama said, "One of the things we know about the presidency is that it's never the challenges you expect that consume most of your time." He mentioned his own rise from "modest means" and said the question was "are we going to pass on that same American dream?"

McCain said that "what I don't know is what all of us don't know, and that's what's going to happen, both here and abroad." He referred to his own history as a prisoner of war, saying, "I know what it's like to keep up hope in difficult times."

McCain vs. Obama: Round Two

2008-10-06T16:03:00.001-07:00

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama will meet again Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

CNNPolitics.com

(CNN) -- With just four weeks left until Election Day, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are preparing to face off in Tuesday night's high-stakes presidential debate. The debate comes amid stepped-up attacks from both sides.

Gov. Sarah Palin accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists who would target their own country," and Obama's campaign released an ad quoting editorials that called McCain "erratic" and "out of touch."

On Monday, the Obama campaign released an online documentary that criticizes McCain over his involvement in the "Keating Five" scandal of the 1980s. Fact check: Did McCain intervene on behalf of Charles Keating?

The back-and-forth this weekend could set the stage for a more heated event than the first presidential debate -- one that had few sharp exchanges as both candidates largely stuck to their talking points.

At a campaign event in Denver, Colorado, last week, a voter asked McCain when he was going to "let the gloves come off and go after" Obama.

McCain's response: "How about Tuesday night?"

According to CNN's latest poll of polls, Obama leads McCain by six percentage points, 49-43.

The poll of polls consists of three national surveys: Marist (September 28-30), Gallup (October 2-4), and Diageo/Hotline (October 2-4). It does not have a sampling error.

As the economic crisis unfolded over the past month, Obama has reclaimed and solidified his lead.

The first presidential debate was supposed to be about foreign policy, but much of it focused on the economy.

That debate, which took place on September 26, came as talks over the government's bailout proposal imploded.

It wasn't clear if the first debate would even take place because McCain suspended his campaign, he said, to focus on the financial crisis. By the morning of the debate, he said he thought Congress had made enough progress on the bailout proposal for him to go ahead with the debate. Democrats blasted his move as a political stunt.

A national poll of people who watched the first presidential debate suggested that Obama came out on top, but there was overwhelming agreement that both Obama and McCain would be able to handle the job of president if elected.

Tuesday's debate is the second in the series of three presidential debates, but the format is much different than the other two events. Watch more on the upcoming debate »

The second debate, taking place in Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, will be set up like a town hall meeting.

The first and third debates are divided into approximately eight 10-minute segments. The moderator introduces each segment with an issue and gives each candidate two minutes to respond. Then there is a five-minute discussion period, when direct exchanges between the candidates occur.

The candidates on Tuesday will not only take questions from moderator Tom Brokaw of NBC News, but they'll also answer questions from people in the audience and from Internet participants.

The audience will be made up of uncommitted voters.

"These debates, town hall debates, are often very telling, they often provide the most dramatic moments in a campaign," said Bill Schneider, CNN's senior political analyst.

"If either of the candidates tries to go negative when you're with an audience of ordinary voters, they don't like it. We've heard them sometimes get very upset when the candidates start attacking each other, so that's going to be hard to do in a town hall format," he said.

At the beginning of the campaign season, McCain invited Obama to participate in joint town hall meetings, but the campaigns never reached agreement on details of the proposed meetings.
McCain spent time at his ranch near Sedona, Arizona, this weekend to prepare for Tuesday's debate. Obama spent time preparing with his staff at a resort in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sunday, taking a break for an afternoon rally.

He will spend most of Monday in preparation as well.

McCain plans fiercer strategy against Obama

2008-10-05T08:38:00.001-07:00

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain talks Friday in Flagstaff, Arizona, about the passage of the economic bailout bill.

Washingtonpost.com

By Michael D. Shear
updated 10:22 a.m. PT, Sat., Oct. 4, 2008

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We've got to question this guy's associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Being so aggressive has risks for McCain if it angers swing voters, who often say they are looking for candidates who offer a positive message about what they will do. That could be especially true this year, when frustration with Washington politics is acute and a desire for specifics on how to fix the economy and fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is strong.

Robert Gibbs, a top Obama adviser, dismissed the new McCain strategy. "This isn't 1988," he said. "I don't think the country is going to be distracted by the trivial." He added that Obama will continue to focus on the economy, saying that Americans will remain concerned about the country's economic troubles even as the Wall Street crisis eases somewhat.

Video
Swing states are now a priority
Oct. 4: MSNBC's Chuck Todd takes a look at the latest polls in key battleground states as the presidential election heads into the final month.

MSNBC
'Just the beginning'
Moments after the House of Representatives approved a bailout package for Wall Street on Friday afternoon, the McCain campaign released a television ad that challenges Obama's honesty and asks, "Who is Barack Obama?" The ad alleges that "Senator Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes. Ninety-four times. He's not truthful on taxes." The charge that Obama voted 94 times for higher taxes has been called misleading by independent fact-checkers, who have noted that the majority of those votes were on nonbinding budget resolutions.

A senior campaign official called the ad "just the beginning" of commercials that will "strike the new tone" in the campaign's final days. The official said the "aggressive tone" will center on the question of "whether this guy is ready to be president."

McCain's only positive commercial, called "Original Mavericks," has largely been taken off the air, according to Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ads.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's performance at Thursday night's debate embodied the new approach, as she used every opportunity to question Obama's honesty and fitness to serve as president. At one point she said, "Barack Obama voted against funding troops [in Iraq] after promising that he would not do so."

Gallup Daily: Obama Maintains Significant Margin

2008-10-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

RINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Oct. 1-3 finds 50% of registered voters supporting Barack Obama, and 42% John McCain, for president. Obama has now held a statistically significant lead over McCain for the last eight days, one shy of his campaign-best streak of nine days with a lead around the time of the Democratic National Convention. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

Voter preferences appear somewhat stable at the moment, as Obama has held similar advantages over McCain in each of the last three individual nights' polling. That includes Friday polling, the first interviews conducted following Thursday's widely viewed vice presidential debate, the passage of the economic rescue bill supported by both Obama and McCain, and Friday's bleak jobs report.

The presidential candidates are set to square off in round two of the presidential debates on Tuesday, answering questions asked by uncommitted voters. -- Jeff Jones

Survey Methods

For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008.

The general-election results are based on combined data from Oct. 1-3, 2008. For results based on this sample of 2,703 registered voters, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on land-line telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says

2008-09-27T06:55:00.001-07:00

www.cnnpolitics.com

OXFORD, Mississippi (CNN) -- A national poll of people who watched the first presidential debate suggests that Barack Obama came out on top, but there was overwhelming agreement that both Obama and John McCain would be able to handle the job of president if elected.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey is not a measurement of the views of all Americans, since only people who watched the debate were questioned and the audience included more Democrats than Republicans.

Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Obama did the better job in Friday night's debate, while 38 percent said John McCain did better.

Men were nearly evenly split between the two candidates, with 46 percent giving the win to McCain and 43 percent to Obama. But women voters tended to give Obama higher marks, with 59 percent calling him the night's winner, while just 31 percent said McCain won.

"It can be reasonably concluded, especially after accounting for the slight Democratic bias in the survey, that we witnessed a tie in Mississippi tonight," CNN Senior Political Researcher Alan Silverleib said. "But given the direction of the campaign over the last couple of weeks, a tie translates to a win for Obama."

McCain apparently failed to get the "game changer" he needed to reverse his deficit in the polls, Silverleib said. Grade the candidates' performances in the debate

Both candidates appeared to exceed expectations. McCain did better than expected in the minds of 60 percent, while 57 percent said Obama did a better job in the debate than they expected. Twenty percent said both candidates did worse than expected.

More than two-thirds of debate watchers agreed that both McCain and Obama would be able to handle the job of president if elected.

National security has been an issue where McCain has held an advantage, but his edge over Obama -- 49 percent to 45 percent -- on the question of which candidate would best handle terrorism is within the poll's 4.5 percent margin of error.

The economy, which has been Obama's terrain this cycle, dominated the first half of the debate. Debate watchers gave him a 21 percentage point edge -- 58 to 37 percent -- on the question of which candidate would do a better job handling the economy.

By a similar margin, those polled said Obama would be better able to deal with the current financial crisis facing the nation.

The real impact of the debate may not be apparent right away.

"The real test will come in a few days when we see whether support for Obama or McCain changes in polls involving all voters, not just debate watchers," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"In post-debate polls after the first faceoff in 2004, John Kerry got virtually the same numbers as Obama did tonight. Polls released a few days later showed Kerry gaining five points in the horse race."

Good post-debate poll numbers don't always spell success in the horse race, he said.

"Kerry also won the third debate in 2004 with the same numbers that Obama got in tonight's poll, but his support dropped five points after that event," Holland said.

Poll interviews were conducted with 524 adult Americans who watched the debate and were conducted by telephone on September 26. All interviews were done after the end of the debate. The margin of error for the survey is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

The results may be favoring Obama simply because more Democrats than Republicans tuned in to the debate. Of the debate-watchers questioned in this poll, 41 percent of the respondents identified themselves as Democrats, 27 percent as Republicans and 30 percent as independents.

The best estimate of the number of Democrats in the voting age population as a whole indicates that the sample is roughly 5 to 7 percentage points more Democratic than the population as a whole.

Cambodia: King Pardons Half-brother

2008-09-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

www.mysinchew.com

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Prominent Cambodian politician Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Thursday (25 Sept) was granted a pardon for his embezzlement conviction by his half-brother, King Norodom Sihamoni, paving the way for his return from exile.

Ranariddh, who is living in Malaysia, will come home Sunday (28 Sept) to resume his political career, said Suth Dina, a spokesman for the party named after the prince.

The king signed a royal decree pardoning "the convicted person named Norodom Ranariddh, who the court has sentenced to 18 months in prison."

In July, a Supreme Court judge upheld a lower court's ruling from last year that found Ranariddh guilty of breach of trust and sentenced him in absentia to 18 months in prison.

The lawsuit was filed by the prince's former colleagues in the royalist Funcinpec party, which he once led.

The court also ordered him to pay US$150,000 in compensation to the party.

The Funcinpec party, which ousted Ranariddh as president in October 2006, sued the prince on a charge of embezzling some US$3.6 million from the sale of the party's headquarters in August that year.

The prince now leads his own Norodom Ranariddh Party, which won two parliamentary seats in this year's general election two months ago.

His party has said the court ruling was politically motivated. He had been living in exile, mostly in Malaysia, long before the court case was initiated against him.

The prince is "happy" about the pardon, Ouk Phalla, Ranariddh's consort, said by phone from Malaysia. She declined to elaborate.

It was not clear what prompted the pardon. But local media have recently reported about behind-the-scenes maneuvering between Prime Minister Hun Sen's government and the prince's party to end Ranariddh's legal trouble.

The two politicians are known for having an on-again, off-again political relationship. They once served as co-prime ministers until Hun Sen staged a coup to unseat his rival.

When Ranariddh was still the leader of Funcinpec, Hun Sen encouraged the royalist party's followers to get rid of the prince for his weak leadership.

Ranariddh fired back, accusing Hun Sen of poking his nose in his business.

The prince and King Sihamoni are sons of former king Norodom Sihanouk.

In a letter to Sihamoni on Thursday, Ranariddh thanked the king for granting him the royal pardon "following intervention" from Hun Sen.

The prince, in a separate letter, also offered "warm congratulations" to his Hun Sen after the country's parliament endorsed him as the prime minister for another five years. (AP)

Cambodia: Parliament Endorses New Cabinet

2008-09-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen walks on his way to the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, 24 Sept 2008. (Photo courtesy: AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Mychinchew.com

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen promised to combat corruption and advocate good governance as he unveiled the country's new Cabinet on Thursday (25 Sept).

Cambodia's newly elected lower house of parliament, overwhelmingly packed with lawmakers from Hun Sen's ruling party, voted to approve the Cabinet, which is filled with the same ministers who served in Hun Sen's administration the past five years.

"A new term but with the same old face," Hun Sen, 57, told the National Assembly after the vote.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party took 90 of 123 seats in July elections, ensuring that it will have a free hand in virtually all legislative matters.

Hun Sen, Asia's longest-serving leader, said his new government will not "waver in its commitment to accelerate development and comprehensive reform."

He has made similar promises in the past to foreign aid donors, who give hundreds of millions of dollars in aid each year to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.

But critics have often criticized his government for doing little to control corruption, illegal logging and land-grabbing by well-connected businessmen.

Cambodia was ranked 166 among 180 countries in Transparency International's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index, where the No. 1 country is the least corrupt. Transparency International is a Berlin-based international non-governmental agency.

Hun Sen responded to the findings with his trademark rebuff, saying many issues in Cambodia have been exaggerated by his critics.

"It is their right to write whatever they want," he said. "Nothing is perfect in this world. Social injustice and corruption occur everywhere. The difference is how small or big they are."

All 26 lawmakers of the Sam Rainsy Party, Cambodia's main opposition group, boycotted Thursday's vote, as did three other lawmakers from the Human Rights Party. The two parties have disputed the results of July's election, saying they were rigged to help secure votes for Hun Sen's party. (AP)

Gallup Daily: Obama 48%, McCain 44%

2008-09-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

PRINCETON, NJ -- There is little change in the Gallup Poll Daily tracking results covering Friday, Saturday, and Sunday interviews, as Barack Obama leads John McCain by a four percentage point margin among registered voters, 48% to 44%.

Click here to read more...

Top Economist: Americans Should Worry About Bank Deposits if Congress Doesn't Act

2008-09-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Finance

Posted Sep 15, 2008 12:58pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession, Banking
Related: LEH, MER, BAC, AIG, WM, ^DJI, ^GSPC

Updated from 12:58 p.m. EDT

With the "financial storm of the century" hitting financial institutions, many Americans are worried about the safety of their bank deposits. While the FDIC insures individual accounts up to $100,000, the reaction to IndyMac's failure this summer -- lines outside retail branches -- shows Americans have limited faith in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which guarantees individual accounts up to $100,000.

Update: "The banking system is safe and sound," Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson declared at a mid-afternoon press conference Monday, seeking to ameliorate such concerns.

"Nothing is more important than the stability and orderliness of our financial markets [and] regulators remain vigilant," Paulson continued. "We're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work of some of the past excesses, but the American people can remain confident in the soundness and resilience of our financial system."

But Americans are justified to be worried, says Nouriel Roubini, of NYU's Stern School and RGE Monitor, who notes there is already a "slow-motion run on retail banks" occurring nationwide.

That "run" could accelerate as people realize the FDIC fund has about $50 billion to "insure" about $1 trillion in assets at the nation's financial institutions, says Roubini. "They're going to run out of money" unless Congress acts soon to recapitalize the FDIC.

In addition, the recent spike in number of banks on the FDIC's "troubled list" is only through June, meaning even that inflated number understates the problem.

The intent here isn't to add to people's anxieties, but Roubini is one of the few market watchers to correctly predict the severity of this ongoing credit crisis. If nothing else, he says people with accounts exceeding $100,000 in value should spread their money - and the risk - among different firms.

In California Train Crash, Riders Had Destinations and Death in Common

2008-09-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
Published: September 14, 2008

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — In life they shared little else but the place they called home, and in their diverse stories, they defined it.

Of the 25 people who were killed when a Metrolink commuter train collided with a freight locomotive on Friday afternoon in the Chatsworth area northwest of downtown Los Angeles, at least eight were from Simi Valley, a quiet community a few miles west of the wreck site known for its horse ranches and the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum

There were the 59-year-old mechanic on his regular commute and the immigrant from Cambodia who had taken a rare train trip into Los Angeles for an eye appointment. There was the police officer who specialized in catching drug suspects and had once shaved her hair to donate to cancer patients, and there was a tower manager from the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

There were the reclusive mail clerk who grew animated around his tiny nieces and nephews, and the gregarious pre-med student who took the train home from college to please his mother. Normally she picked him up in Los Angeles; on Friday, he wanted to save her the trip.

The stories and photographs of the dead from Simi Valley and the surrounding Ventura County towns reflect the diversity and expansiveness of Southern California, a stretch of coastal land that on Sunday was dotted with grief and shock.

“It has affected everyone,” Pat McCoy, a pastor at the Cornerstone Church, said about the crash in which 135 passengers were injured, 40 of them critically, in one of the nation’s worst-ever commuter rail crashes. “We take community seriously here.”

A Cornerstone parishioner, Walter Fuller, died in the crash, and an exchange student from Africa who had often helped with the church’s musical worship suffered a brain injury and is in a coma, Mr. McCoy said.

By late Saturday afternoon 35 parishioners had descended on Mr. Fuller’s home to comfort his widow, Jenny. “They were there to pray with her, to be with her, to love on her,” he said. “She is remarkably strong and has a lot of faith. She knows her husband is in heaven now and that gives her some comfort.”

At house after house in this area, ashen-faced family members answered doors, still unable to comprehend that the mundane choice of the northbound 111 Train on Friday afternoon had proved deadly. Many victims were in the train’s first car.

“He was a loving father and grandfather,” said Kong Chao, 38, remembering his father, Yi Chao, 71, who was on his way home from an appointment with an eye doctor. The family emigrated from Cambodia in 1982, Mr. Chao said, “and he took care of me when my mom was not around during my life here in the U.S.” His father dreamed of traveling back to Cambodia and China, and passed his mornings in a nearby park, walking.

After the wreck, Mr. Chao built an altar in his home next to a picture of his father, with small chili peppers and sweets and burning candles. “He missed Cambodia,” he said.

A few miles away, a steady line of cars pulled up to the Vyas residence. Women in saris and men with their faces twisted in grief came to visit with the family of Atul Vyas, 20, pre-med student in Los Angeles. As a high school valedictorian, family joker and lover of video games and basketball, “his choices were endless,” said his cousin, Ruchi Agarwal. He chose Claremont McKenna College, Ms. Agarwal said, in large part to be near to his family.

“I think he wanted to pursue something where he would help others,” Ms. Agarwal said of Mr. Vyas, the younger of two sons, who had begun to peruse his many medical school offers. His coming home for the weekend gave his parents pleasure, and his younger cousin, Sameer Gupta, 12, would come from San Jose to be with him. “He was extremely warm,” Ms. Agarwal said, “kind of jovial, brilliant of course. He could light up the room.”

Michael Hammersley, 45, lived in the house where he grew up with four siblings, keeping his mother company. He worked as a mail clerk at City Hall and spent most of his time steeped in his collection of science fiction movies and books, said his sister, Beth Tellefsen. “He loved his nieces and nephews,” she said. “He was a totally different person around them.”

Spree Desha, 35, was a Los Angeles police officer, recently assigned to the Office of Operations at the department’s headquarters downtown from her beat in Hollywood. Ms. Desha was known to seize the initiative, organizing a cancer fund-raiser in the office, for which she and other officers shaved their heads for donations, a department spokeswoman, Karen Smith, said.

Click here to read more..

A Modest Proposal

2008-09-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Op Ed by Jayakhmer

Posted at www.modernprogressivekhmer.blogspot.com

The Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) decisively won the election. On July 27, 2008 Cambodia held its fourth Parliamentary Election in 15 years. Although 11 political parties participated in the election, CPP managed to capture 90 seats out of 123 according to official result. This means even without the 2006 constitutional amendment to change the requirement from a super majority to a simple majority (50+1) to form a government, CPP could have easily met the former requirement.

If democracy is only about elections, Cambodia shows an impressive progress considering the country had just emerged from decades of wars and conflicts. Democracy, however, is much more than elections though they serve as important processes. Rather, the principles and practices are characteristics necessary to determine whether a nation is democratic.

While I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to CPP for its impressive victory, I have lingering concerns as to what political progress will this victory bring.

As CPP is poised to form a new government, its actions after the election will determine the direction of the country. CPP is credited for the country’s impressive economic progress. As an optimist, I hope that CPP will take this golden opportunity to addressing these important political issues.

Political Liberty is core of a democracy. The U.S. would not be the way it is now if the founding fathers failed to incorporated the Bill of Rights in the constitution. According to John Stuart Mill, liberty is “the protection against the tyranny of the political rulers.” The first ten amendments of the U.S constitution practically restrict the power of government and protect individuals’ liberty.

The current Cambodian constitution recognizes citizens’ rights but it fails to restrict the power of government. There is a thin line between tyranny and democracy. Restricting the power of government and a devotion to creating a well-ordered society by all where no one is above the law will push Cambodia rapidly toward democracy.

This is also a perfect time for CPP to set term limit for office of the prime minister. The U.S did not impose term limit for president until the ratification of 22nd amendment in 1947. Most countries allow their prime ministers to serve without term limits; Cambodia under CPP should take this bold step by making term limit a permanent part of the constitution.

CPP has to look beyond this transitional period. The country must keep changing to progress. With term limit, the country knows and expects new policies and new ways of governing after a leader’s term limit is expired. Even if the country keeps voting for the same party, at least term limit will provide opportunities for other capable members of that party to serve the nation. With term limit, the country also will depend on the rule of law to change a leader rather than depends on the mercy of a leader to relinquish power.

The checks and balances are also very important in a democracy. Perhaps, the framers of the Cambodian constitution overlooked this important issue. In a unitary system, as oppose to the federal system, Cambodian government wheels tremendous power. Realistically, there is no separation between different branches of the government.

CPP happens to be the winner this time around. What would CPP do if it were to become an opposition party? As Cambodia becomes more developed, it is conceivable that country’s political landscape will also change and can change drastically. This is the right time to make sure that there is reflective equilibrium that provides ample opportunity for opposition parties to participate in political deliberation process to provide the much needed checks and balances.

If election in a democracy is a way in which a political party justifies its legitimacy to govern a nation, CPP should use this people’s mandate to create a legacy for all citizens – not just for CPP - that last from one generation to the next. Political liberty, term limit to the highest office in the nation, and a legitimate checks and balances that encourage political oppositions a continued cooperation will be the most precious legacy that a political party or an election can offer.

Obama's convention message, did it work?

2008-09-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

Napa Valley Register

By MICHAEL HALEY

The whole world weighed in Thursday night on Barack Obama’s speech — along with the Democratic convention — so here’s mine, let me know yours.

Two days ago I was all set to write that Hillary and Bill Clinton were destroying the Democratic chances with their unending victimhood and self absorption. Obama threw Hillary under the bus? Uh, no, she lost the primary election. You know, Hillary, votes?

Then they managed to turn it around the third day with a brilliant move by Hillary to forgo the roll call vote and accede the nomination to Obama, and Bill’s brilliant speech which was really the best of the week. But do nut worry, the victims will be back, they just know how to punt when they have to.

Thursday night we saw the most important speech and in the end the one that will matter in this election, Obama’s. One has to be impressed, first of all, that he is able to get 85,000 people to show up in person for a speech. According to the media, neither Bill or Hillary or John McCain could pull that off.

The reactions were an interesting mix of two basic opinions. Juan Williams, Democrat, started off saying that it was a good speech but, it was a basically a boilerplate Democrat speech. Bill Kristol, Republican, said Obama met all expectations and then some. Interesting.

My wife was in the Kristol camp, and she is more conservative than I and a McCain supporter, and I was more in the Williams camp. The more I have thought about it and looked at some of my notes, the more I was impressed with certain things.

First of all, as we have all come to expect from Democratic speeches they often devolve into a laundry list of promises to various groups. College for all students, tax credits, off foreign oil in 10 years, health insurance for the uninsured, lower health premiums for the rest, whiskey for your men, beer for your horses.

O.K. We have heard that before.

What was interesting was his tax plan. He is going to reduce taxes for 95 percent of working families, he says. That’s a tax cut, he is only going to raise taxes on households making above $250,000. And he said he was going to go line by line through the budget to make cuts to pay for it. On top of that, he says “you do nut raise taxes in a recession.” Wow, he sounded like a Republican. Or at least Republicans before Bush.

He mentioned not hiring illegal workers, said do not tell me Democrats can’t defend this country, and was even nice to McCain.

And he sounded like he meant it all. He really came across as sincere, and in the end I have to conclude that he did what he needed to do. He came off like a Commander in Chief, supremely confident and tough. He put out enough specifics in his plans to give a sense of what he would do, and he maintained the high road in his political campaign against McCain.

I do not agree with a lot of his economic plan, but I like his foreign policy stance better than McCain’s. McCain now has a tall order ahead of him next week.

What was your reaction?

Note: Starting next week I am going to start a Daily Napablogger where I will be posting shorter thoughts and ideas on a daily basis, as well as more links to articles related to our discussions here. You know, like a real blog. I am going to continue with the weekly articles, but I am hoping we can react to the daily news with some discussion that is timely for the day. Hope to see you over there.

Michael Haley’s Napablogger column — and the Daily Napablogger — appear online at napavalleyregister.com. Haley is president of the Napa Valley Taxpayers Alliance. He can be reached at napaeagle@hughes.net, or post a comment here.

John McCain speech (full text)

2008-09-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

By Associated Press
Friday, September 5, 2008

Remarks by Republican presidential nominee John McCain to the Republican National Convention on Thursday, as prepared for delivery:

Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans - the privilege of accepting our party’s nomination for president of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.

In my life, no success has come without a good fight, and this nomination wasn’t any different. That’s a tribute to the candidates who opposed me and their supporters. They’re leaders of great ability, who love our country, and wished to lead it to better days. Their support is an honor I won’t forget.

Please click here to read more...

Thai PM accepts resignation of FM as protesters refuse to budge

2008-09-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK (AFP) — Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday that he had accepted the resignation of his foreign minister, but refused to step down himself despite more than a week of street protests.

An aide to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who would not be named, told AFP that Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag submitted his resignation citing his wife's ill health, but it has yet to be accepted by the prime minister.

Samak is fighting to rally support in the face of thousands of protesters who have besieged his empty government offices for the past week, calling on him to resign.

Early Tuesday the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy clashed with government supporters in Bangkok, leaving one man dead and 44 people injured, prompting Samak to impose emergency rule across the capital.

Thailand's political stalemate showed no sign of easing up on Wednesday, even as a national strike threatened by utility workers flopped.

Unions representing 200,000 employees at state enterprises had threatened to make crippling cuts to water and power supplies nationwide. But few workers heeded their call, with services running as usual.

Some workers who began disrupting train services last week returned to the job Wednesday, the State Railway of Thailand said, adding that operations had actually improved, with trains suspended only in southern provinces.

Flag carrier Thai Airways reported no disruptions and transport authorities in Bangkok said public buses were running as usual.

But the thousands of activists who stormed Samak's official compound 10 days ago refused to budge, raising fears of new violence despite the capital now being essentially under military control.

Political gatherings are banned and the army is empowered to suspend civil liberties.

But while the protesters have defied the ban on assembly, the army chief, General Anupong Paojinda, said he would use talks rather than violence to end the siege.

The military has made no move to evict activists squatting in the Government House compound, and one of the key protest leaders said they would only open negotiations if Samak resigns.

"Our stand is always firm -- that Mr. Samak has to go. If Mr. Samak doesn't go we will not talk to anybody," said media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, who has spearheaded the movement.

No soldiers were seen around the protest site Wednesday, where 5,000 ac tivists had again slept on the Government House lawn -- now little more than a smelly mass of mud after days of occupation with little sanitation.

One senior aide to Samak told reporters that the premier was surprised that Anupong had not taken any action against the protesters.

"Anupong should not be a mediator," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "What are the military playing at?"

Samak's state of emergency has sharply split Thais, according to a survey of Thailand's 16 biggest provinces by Assumption University, which found 50.8 percent of people questioned supported the decision.

The turmoil has also battered Thailand's stock market, which has fallen 24 percent since protests first broke out in May.

The PAD's protesters accuse Samak of acting as a puppet for Thaksin, who has fled to Britain to escape corruption charges. Samak also faces a barrage of legal cases that could bring down his government.

The PAD wants to weaken the voting power of the rural poor, who form the base of support for both Samak and Thaksin, by appointing rather than electing 70 percent of parliamentarians.

Such a change would undo most of Thailand's democratic development over the last three decades. The kingdom has only ever had a shaky hold on democracy, with 18 military coups since absolute monarchy ended in 1932.

"All these calls for Samak to resign now constitute a litmus test for Thailand's democratic system," said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University.

"If the PAD remains intransigent and gets its way, that would mean Samak is ousted and PAD is unlikely to stop there. Ultimately they're going far to the right, taking Thailand back to the dark ages."

Clinton Women Back Obama

2008-09-04T05:53:00.001-07:00

KULR8.com

By Stephanie Domurat

BILLINGS - While Republicans unite at the G.O.P. convention this week, Hillary Clinton supporters in Montana are also rallying behind Barack Obama.

The Clinton campaign urged supporters to fall in line behind the democratic nominee. During a conference call Wednesday, Clinton backers said they supported Clinton for her stand on issues important to women, not because of her gender. Now, they say those goals will not be realized without Obama in office.

"Hilary supporters are wildly enthusiastic for Obama, but we need to stay on the facts. And that is that everything that we stood for, can't be done unless we support Obama's into presidency," says State Senate Majority Leader Carol Williams.

The Montanans add that McCain's V.P. choice of Governor Sarah Palin will not sway them because her beliefs are not in line with theirs.

Clinton, Sarah Palin Have Soul Sister in Tokyo: William Pesek

2008-09-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Bloomberg.com

Commentary by William Pesek

ept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- For all the sexist stereotypes about Japan, it may get a female leader before the U.S.

It's a distant possibility, mind you. Tokyo politics really are as male-dominated as you will find in the developed world. If you think Hillary Clinton got a raw deal in her U.S. presidential campaign, check out Japan. It ranks among the lowest nations in female participation in politics and business.

Undeterred, Yuriko Koike, 56, reportedly is considering a run to replace Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who resigned this week. Well, good for her if she decides to try.

Japan needs more such trailblazers. This is, after all, a nation that until a few years ago was still naming men to oversee gender-equality issues. Yet this isn't really about gender. Koike may be the closest thing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has to a charismatic agent of change.

The one-time television anchorwoman has served as Japan's defense and environment minister. A legislator since 1992, Koike was among the candidates then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi chose in 2005 to oppose conservative lawmakers in elections.

Koizumi is widely thought to be championing her behind the scenes to succeed Fukuda, who lasted just 11 months as premier. Fukuda replaced the equally forgettable Shinzo Abe, who stayed in the job only a year after Koizumi stepped down in 2006.

Thatcher Fan

Unlike Fukuda and Abe, Koike is a self-described passionate advocate of the kinds of pro-market and smaller-government ideas that foreign investors desire. Koike is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, the U.K. prime minister who helped shake up the economy in the 1980s.

Japan's increasingly uncompetitive business culture could use a dose of Thatcherism. It got a small taste during Koizumi's five-year tenure. He brushed the broad strokes, reducing public- works spending and selling Japan Post.

Koizumi was more talk than action, and his successors had less interest in improving the economy. Japan's push for change has fizzled out just as the nation is sliding toward a recession.

Most observers expect former Foreign Minister Taro Aso to replace Fukuda. He favors the old-school fiscal policies that left Japan with the world's largest public debt. The gaffe-prone Aso is likely to spend more time clarifying his clumsy comments than making the economy more international.

Welcome Step

Koike might be a welcome step in the right direction. ``She represents within the LDP an economic school that is the successor to Mr. Koizumi and that is antagonistic to Mr. Aso,'' says LDP member Dan Harada.

It's am important point. Koike thinks bigger than the average Koizumian. She wants Japan to be an environmental leader that will create jobs as the nation exports its green technologies. Koike also is a Middle East expert who studied in Cairo and speaks Arabic.

Not a bad skill to have at a time when Japan is in talks with sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East to raise as much as 100 billion yen ($927 million) to boost foreign investment.

Gender is perhaps the main attribute working against Koike as LDP bigwigs settle on a new leader. While no one is saying it, the conservative greybeards who run Japan aren't big on putting women in high places.

Of course, the U.S. also is a gender battleground these days. Democratic Senator Clinton came the closest any woman ever has to winning a major party's nomination. Republican John McCain's move to tap Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate also made 2008 an historic year for American women.

Common Quest

It's instructive, though, to remember that India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Pakistan and the Philippines had -- or still have -- female leaders long before more developed nations, including the U.S. and Japan. In that sense, Koike, Clinton and Palin have a common quest to pump more diversity into their nations' top offices.

Another Japanese woman, Consumer Affairs Minister Seiko Noda, 48, may run for prime minister.

A female Japanese leader would be nothing short of revolutionary. It's also the feminist boost that Japan's economy needs.

Women account for just 12 percent of Japan's 722 parliamentary members. Japan doesn't have a monopoly on sexism. Yet how often does the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development call on a nation to increase female labor participation to boost growth? In July, the OECD called it a ``waste of valuable human resources.''

Koike's Promise

Analysts such as Naomi Fink of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. say women are underemployed even though they are more highly educated than the OECD average. Reasons for the disparity include insufficient child-care support and labor practices that nudge women into low-paying temporary jobs. Japan's anti-discrimination laws also lag behind other OECD countries.

Discrimination feeds into Japan's low birthrate because having children tends to be a career-ending decision, so many women put off motherhood.

A female leader may have more interest in addressing Japan's inequities than male ones. Perhaps the sight of a woman running Asia's biggest economy will inspire Japanese girls to aim higher and demand more of politicians.

Irrespective of her sex, Koike may just be the best person for a job that has been done all too poorly for years.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: William Pesek in Tokyo at wpesek@bloomberg.net

McCain campaign angrily defends Sarah Palin

2008-09-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press Writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. - John McCain's campaign on Wednesday angrily called for an end to questions about Sarah Palin's background, calling it a "faux media scandal designed to destroy the first female Republican nominee" for vice president.

"This nonsense is over," declared senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt in a written statement

The statement stood out for its admission that Palin is under siege — it condemns "this vetting controversy" — and for its attempt to blunt questions about how rigorously McCain and his campaign explored the background of a candidate who may get the nation's second most powerful job.
"The McCain campaign will have no further comment about our long and thorough process," Schmidt said.
McCain shook up the presidential race last Friday by picking Palin, a little-known governor serving her first term in Alaska. Since then, the self-styled "hockey mom" with a record of bucking the state's political establishment has had a bright spotlight shone on her private and public life.
First, she announced that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol Palin, was pregnant. Among the other revelations, none of which seem to have shaken McCain's confidence or undermined her support among GOP delegates:
_A private attorney is authorized to spend $95,000 of state money to defend her against accusations of abuse of power.
_Palin sought pork-barrel projects for her city and state, contrary to her reformist image.
_Her husband once belonged to a fringe political group in Alaska, with some members supporting secession from the United States.
_She has acknowledged smoking marijuana in the past.
After four days of intense scrutiny, Palin gets a chance to respond with a televised speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. In addition to accepting the nomination, the first woman to do so for the GOP, Palin will tell her story: small-town mayor with a taste for mooseburgers; the wife of a blue-collar North Slope oil worker; and the mother of five, including one born this spring with Down syndrome.
Defending his choice and the team that helped pick her, McCain said Tuesday that "the vetting process was completely thorough." Campaign advisers at the convention said Palin filled out a survey with 70 tough questions, including: Have you ever paid for sex? Have you been faithful in your marriage? Have you ever used or purchased drugs? Have you ever downloaded pornography?
McCain's aides rejected suggestions from Democrats that her selection was a hurried, last-minute attempt to shake up the campaign and wrest female voters from Barack Obama. They insisted Palin was a finalist from the start.
But one senior Republican familiar with the search, who requested anonymity because McCain did not authorize the conversation, said Palin had virtually fallen from the radar. Only late in the summer, when McCain asked for more alternatives, was she made a finalist.
As conservatives closed ranks behind their like-minded foe of abortion, former presidential candidate Fred Thompson used his prime-time address to defend Palin on Tuesday.
"Some Washington pundits and media big shots are in a frenzy over the selection of a woman who has actually governed rather than just talked a good game on the Sunday talk shows and hit the Washington cocktail circuit," Thompson said.
When she was introduced as McCain's running mate last week, Palin portrayed herself as a political maverick in McCain's mold: "I've stood up to the old politics as usual, to the special interests, to the lobbyists, the big oil companies and the good old boy network," she said.
But Alaska's first female governor has at times benefited from Alaska's entrenched political system.
For one thing, Palin accepted at least $4,500 in campaign contributions in the same fundraising scheme at the center of a public corruption scandal that led to the indictment of Sen. Ted Stevens.
The contributions, made during Palin's failed 2002 bid to become Alaska's lieutenant governor, were not illegal for her to accept. But they show how Palin, who has bucked Stevens and his allies, is nonetheless beholden to Alaska's old guard.
The $4,500 came from executives at VECO Corp., a powerful Alaska oil field services company. Company founder Bill Allen has admitted the company steered its donations through a "special bonus program" in which executives received money and the company instructed them to donate it to favored politicians.
Allen pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges. He admitted the program violated federal tax laws and said it was used to keep his political allies flush with cash.
Schmidtdismissed the idea that a few campaign contributions years ago diminished Palin's record as a reformer. "Gov. Palin's record fighting corruption and taking on these issues in Alaska speaks for itself," he said Tuesday.
Indeed, Palin has had her share of run-ins with Stevens, including a dustup earlier this year in which Stevens accused Palin of not being enthusiastic enough about his efforts to bring federal earmark money to Alaska. She has also called on Stevens' son, Ben, to resign as national committeeman for the state party.
She was among the first Alaska Republicans to urge Stevens to answer questions about the FBI investigation.

Cambodia visits cruelty on weakest citizens

2008-08-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

SF Gate

Joel Brinkley

Saturday, August 30, 2008

(08-30) 04:00 PDT Andoung, --

Cambodia - Well past the city limits, beyond the sign that says "Bon Voyage; See You Again," after the paved roads end, down a rutted dirt track, Un Thea sits in the mud outside her shanty, peeling bamboo shoots - and seething.

wo years ago, soldiers and police showed up in the middle of the night to throw her family and more than 1,000 others out of their homes on a plot in central Phnom Penh. The soldiers torched the crude houses before Un and the others had time even to retrieve their meager belongings. All of the residents were herded onto buses and ferried out to Andoung, about 15 miles away, and dumped in a rice paddy without so much as a bottle of water or a tarp for cover. Then the soldiers left - although a few stayed to turn away the aid groups that came to drop off emergency rations.

Un's case is among several thousand more or less similar land seizures across Cambodia in the last three years.

"Out here, it is hard making business," Un complains with considerable understatement. She is 25 but already looks decades older. "They dumped us here and gave us no money, no land title. Nothing."

Cambodia is a democracy. The modern state grew out of a United Nations peace conference in 1991 intended to create a free nation from the rubble the Khmer Rouge left behind.

Since then, the government has purported to manage the country according to the rule of law. Every democratic country, including the United States, fails at times to live up to its democratic ideals.

But the cruelty the Cambodian government visits upon its weakest citizens can be breathtaking. You expect this in North Korea or Zimbabwe. But Cambodia? In late July, Cambodians voted in national elections that were generally peaceful, but with scattered complaints. Government leaders tolerate human rights groups that regularly castigate them and, within limits, critical stories in the news media.

Still, stories like Un's can overwhelm the positive developments in Cambodia. Chum Bon Rong is secretary of state in the National Land Authority, which is supposed to arbitrate land disputes like the Andoung case. Last week he told me that his agency has received more than 3,000 land-seizure appeals in the last 2 1/2 years.

Of those, he admitted, only about 50 have been judged in favor of plaintiffs, the impoverished people whose land was seized. Even among those 50, he acknowledged with a rueful grin, "sometimes the cases disappear" after referral to another agency that is supposed to implement the National Land Authority's findings.

In 2001, under pressure from the West, Cambodia enacted a Land Law that was supposed to set clear rules for property disputes. Seven years later, the government has yet to write the regulations implementing that law and the seizures continue unabated. Phnom Penh is booming, and when a developer spots a choice piece of land, he simply pays off the proper official to gain a newly minted land title. All that's left is to rid the property of its pesky residents - almost always poor, uneducated people such as Un.

Once the residents have been disposed of, they are forgotten. Licadho, a local human rights group, noted in a new report that Un and the others dumped out in Andoung suffer from "malnutrition, typhoid, dengue fever, hepatitis A or B, hypertension, respiratory tract infections, gastro-intestinal illnesses including stress-related ulcers, depression," and last in this litany, "anger management problems."

Un and her husband built a one-room shelter on stilts from scrap wood, bamboo matting and plastic tarps.

Ten people now live in and under the house. She has no electricity or running water. No one in this community has a phone; there's not a single toilet. "We have to buy water from the water seller," she says, nodding toward an earthen cistern beside the house.

Mosquito larvae seem to roil the water surface. Tacked to her shelter's front wall, a poster warns of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness. Un says she can make about 5,000 riel selling her peeled bamboo shoots at market. That's $1.22. She sends her young sons into Phnom Penh "to shine shoes for the people. They go and stay for a month."

A few months ago, the United Nations issued a report saying the government here always "tilts in favor of businesses" that want to develop land, "pitting poor farmers against developers."

Even though his own agency's numbers show the very same thing, Chum says complaints like that from abroad are "a case of propaganda."

McCain Picks Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin For VP Spot

2008-08-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

NPR

by Deborah Tedford

Republican Sen. John McCain announced Friday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be his vice presidential running mate, a move that brings youth and a staunch abortion opponent to the GOP ticket.

"She's exactly who this country needs to help us fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," McCain said at a rally in Dayton, Ohio.

Palin is the first woman to be named to a spot on the GOP ticket. "I am honored," she said, as her husband and four of her children stood behind her. Her eldest child was absent from the event, pending his deployment to Iraq.

McCain's campaign touted Palin as a maverick who has challenged the influence of big oil companies and used her veto power to cut budgetary spending since becoming governor two years ago.

"Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today," the campaign's news release said.

Palin, 44, was elected Alaska's first woman governor in 2006 on a platform of ethics reform. She has extensive influence in Alaska politics, having served as mayor of Wasilla and ethics commissioner on the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Palin has also been a steadfast opponent of abortion, giving birth earlier this year to a child she knew would have Down syndrome. Her addition to the ticket could bolster McCain's support among the Republican Party's Christian base.

Palin and her husband, Todd, have five children, ranging in age from 18 years to 4 months. Todd Palin is of native Alaskan Yup'ik ancestry.

McCain's announcement comes a day after Illinois Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. McCain and Palin will face Obama and Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden in the Nov. 4 election.

Palin will become only the second female vice presidential nominee of a major party. Democrat Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale's pick as a running mate in 1984.

From NPR and wire reports.

Clinton praises Obama's readiness to lead

2008-08-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

CNN Politics. Com

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Former President Bill Clinton declared Barack Obama "ready to be president of the United States" at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, after months of attacks from Hillary Clinton supporters on the Democratic nominee's lack of experience.

Bill Clinton himself was among the most outspoken proponents of that line of criticism of Obama.
But Wednesday, Clinton reversed himself, pointing out that Republicans had used the same line of attack against him when he first ran for president.
"It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history," Clinton said. "And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history."
Obama made history a few hours before Clinton's speech, becoming the first African-American to be nominated for president by a major party. Hillary Clinton interrupted a roll call vote to ask that he be nominated by acclamation, a carefully choreographed maneuver designed to unite the party after the bitter primary battle between Obama and Clinton.

Bill Clinton continued that theme in his speech.
"Last night, Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she is going to do everything in her power to elect Barack Obama," Clinton said of his wife, who ran against Obama for the Democratic nomination and urged her backers Tuesday night to support him.

"That makes two of us -- actually that makes 18 million of us," he said, a reference to the number of Democratic primary voters who backed Hillary Clinton.
Bill Clinton received a rapturous welcome when he appeared on stage to the tune of "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," his 1992 campaign theme song.
He soaked up the applause for several minutes, repeatedly thanking the crowd and finally saying firmly, but with a laugh, "Sit down!"
He attacked John McCain, the Republican candidate, as someone who would continue the failed policies of the Bush administration: "More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence."

But Obama, he said, "will lead us away from the division and fear of the last eight years and back to hope."

He closed with an echo of his 1992 portrayal of himself as the Man from Hope, his hometown in Arkansas.
"And so if you, like me, believe that America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary and Chelsea and me in making Barack Obama the next president of the United States."

Clinton: Obama 'must be our president'

2008-08-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Democrats to back her former rival for the presidency, Sen. Barack Obama.

CNN Politics.com

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton introduced herself as a "proud supporter of Barack Obama" at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday as she called on her party to rally behind her former rival.

Clinton's speech was expected to be one of the key elements of the four-day convention. The New York senator competed against Obama in the longest primary season in modern history.

She suspended her campaign in early June and endorsed Obama, but some of her supporters have been hesitant to move into Obama's camp, saying they are going to not vote at all or vote for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

"No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president," Clinton said. Her speech, which was the last of the night, followed a line up of other Democrats who used their time at the podium to attack President Bush's record and McCain's policies.

Clinton thanked her voters for supporting her historic campaign as a female candidate and reached out to those wary of Obama by telling them they weren't in this for her, but for her cause. That cause, she said, is the same thing that Obama and the rest of the Democratic Party are fighting for.

Appearing strong and energized -- and at times jovial -- Clinton seemed to end speculation that she has not fully embraced Obama as her party's candidate.

Clinton mentioned Obama by name more than twice as many times as she mentioned the party as a whole.

"I thought she was a class act," said political analyst David Gergen, who worked in the Clinton administration. "I think it could well be said that nothing has so become her campaign as the way she has ended it here tonight."

Clinton also praised Obama's newly tapped vice presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. The former first lady called Biden "pragmatic, tough and wise."

As soon as the speech ended, the McCain campaign issued a statement implying that Clinton did nothing to dispel her previous criticism of Obama.

"Sen. Clinton ran her presidential campaign making clear that Barack Obama is not prepared to lead as commander-in-chief. Nowhere tonight did she alter that assessment," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said.

"Nowhere tonight did she say that Barack Obama is ready to lead. Millions of Hillary Clinton supporters and millions of Americans remain concerned about whether Barack Obama is ready to be president."

The McCain campaign has stepped up its effort to woo disaffected Clinton supporters, running ads highlighting Clinton's criticism of Obama during the primaries.

Obama called Clinton after the speech and thanked her for her support and said she could not have done a better job.

Earlier, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner appealed across party lines in his keynote address. Obama has been campaigning hard to win Virginia, which hasn't voted for a Democratic president since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

According to CNN's electoral map, the state is a toss-up going into the general election. In order for Obama to take the state's 13 electoral votes, he would need to win over some of Virginia's independent and Republican voters.

Instead of tearing into the current administration, Warner talked about ideas -- highlighting science and technology.

"I know we're at the Democratic convention, but if an idea works, it really doesn't matter if it has an 'R' or 'D' next to it," Warner said. "Because this election isn't about liberal versus conservative. It's not about left versus right. It's about the future versus the past."

His words echoed Obama's own keynote speech of four years ago when the then little known senator from Illinois spoke of what united rather than divided Americans.

In 2004, before John Kerry was nominated for president, Obama said to delegates: "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there's the United States of America."

Republican strategist Alex Castellanos said Warner's address could do for him what Obama's address did four years ago.

"It's a very powerful speech. He's going to come out of this convention the way Barack Obama came out of the last convention -- as the rock star, as the next guy," he said. "It was an important speech because if this election is about experience and strength, McCain wins. But if this election's about the past versus the future, Republicans have a much tougher job."

Warner's most blunt criticism of President Bush was that he has kept the country from living up to its potential.

Tuesday's other speakers played up Obama's message of change and tore into McCain, saying he would only bring about more of the same.

Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey Jr. at one point feigned shock at the idea that the Republican Party was asking for four more years in the White House, promising the party of President Bush and McCain "not four more years, but four more months."

In response, the delegates jumped to their feet shouting, "Four more months! Four more months!"

Audience members also waved signs that said "McCain more of the same."

John McCain is not lying lowStory Highlights

2008-08-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

By Ed Henry CNN White House Correspondent

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (CNN) -- Presidential candidates usually keep a low-profile during the other guy's convention, but not John McCain. He's trying here in his home state to stay relevant to what's happening in Denver at the Democratic National Convention.

The strategy behind McCain skipping the usual R&R is pretty clear: The latest CNN/Opinion Research poll shows this race is much closer frankly than either side expected it to be in a sour year for Republicans, so Team McCain wants to keep the heat on Barack Obama.
"If you had told me two months ago that we'd be dead even heading into the Democratic National Convention, I would have told you were crazy," one McCain adviser told me.
So McCain advisers say their goal is to keep Obama's convention "bounce" to a minimum, so McCain can head to St. Paul, Minnesota, next week with some real momentum. They think the best way to do that is to drive a deeper wedge between Obama and Sen.Hillary Clinton.
It started last weekend, when Obama picked Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware instead of Clinton as his running mate. McCain's camp quickly released a TV ad titled "Passed Over," trying to stoke the simmering anger among Clintonites who feel she got a raw deal. Now the Republican National Committee has another ad pouring more gasoline on the fire.

"Who has the experience to govern our nation?" the narrator begins, before cutting to an old clip from Clinton during the tense Democratic primary season. "Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience to the campaign," Clinton says in the clip. "I will bring a lifetime of experience, and Sen. Obama will bring a speech he gave in 2002."

For the record, Clinton insists she's miffed by the barrage of ads. "I'm Hillary Clinton and I do not approve that message," Clinton told members of the New York delegation Monday, playing off the tag line of all campaign ads these days.
But McCain keeps churning the ads out anyway, including one featuring a disillusioned Clinton delegate from Wisconsin who says she's now voting Republican for the first time. "I respect his maverick and independent streak, and now he's the one with the experience and judgment," she says of McCain. "A lot of Democrats will vote McCain. It's okay, really!"
While his ads are going for the jugular, McCain is trying to project a positive image with easy photo-ops during the Democratic festivities. After promising a press conference on Monday, McCain aides instead rolled out a -- dare I use the word -- celebrity endorsement. It was a Latin recording star, "Daddy Yankee," who's so popular he literally sent the female students shrieking at a mostly Latino high school in Phoenix, Arizona.

"One of his most famous songs, I know you're very familiar with -- 'Gasolina,' " McCain said of a song that it's a safe bet he did not know too much about until recently. Let's face it, Daddy Yankee is not your typical McCain voter -- based on the scantily-clad ladies in his music videos. But the point is McCain is having a little fun, while Democrats are fretting about whether they're on the verge of blowing an historic opportunity. That's why the Republican was planning to spend Monday night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." A good chance to have a few laughs, and if McCain could reach out to some supporters of Hillary Clinton along the way -- well that's a nice little bonus.

Democratic Covention

2008-08-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

CNN. com

Watch Highlights Click Here

Opinion: corruption as a popular culture

2008-08-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Chronicle

Joel Brinkley

Sunday, August 24, 2008

(08-24) 04:00 PDT Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- Hun Chea, a nephew of Cambodia's prime minister, was speeding along a busy downtown street a few days ago when he ran down a man on a motorbike.

Phnom Penh's streets are teeming with motorbikes, hundreds of them, crisscrossing busy traffic without seeming to look or care where they are going. Collisions are inevitable. But that's not the point of this story.

Hun, 24, was tearing down the street at high speed when he hit the biker, witnesses reported, and his car ripped off an arm and a leg. The biker, Sam Sabo, was killed. Hun began to drive off, but running over the motorbike had shredded a tire. He had to pull over, so there he sat in his big black Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle.

Now, listen to how the Phnom Penh Post newspaper described the events that followed.

"Numerous traffic police were seen avoiding the accident scene, but armed military police arrived. They removed the SUV's license plates and comforted Hun Chea" while Sam Sabo lay bleeding to death in the street. A military police officer was overheard telling Hun: "Don't worry. It wasn't your mistake. It was the motorbike driver's mistake."

A few days later, Hun gave the dead man's family $4,000 in hush money, the paper reported. Case closed.

It's no secret that Cambodia is thoroughly corrupt. As an indirect result, the rich and the powerful can commit, well, murder and face few if any repercussions.

A primary rule of foreign correspondence is to avoid applying the values of your own country on the nation you are covering. But then, some events appear so outrageous that the rule does not apply. Police actually removed the car's license plates, to conceal the driver's identity?

So I asked Khieu Kanarith, Cambodia's information minister, about the case. He fumbled about for a moment and then explained, "I understand he had his wife in the car, and I don't think he was paying attention to what he was doing."

OK, but the police removed the license plates?

Khieu had to think about that for a moment but finally managed to say, "you try to cover the plates because it's harder to sell a car if it's been in an accident."

As a reporter, sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face. But then, being Cambodia's information minister is a tough job.

Later I asked Joseph Mussomeli, the U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, about this, and he shook his head.

"This goes to the whole culture of impunity here. Who you are, who you know, is more important than following the law. And the police are too intimidated, too deferential, to the wealthy and powerful."

Why else would the traffic police assertively avoid the scene of the accident, even with a dying man lying in the street? They knew full well that the owner of a Cadillac Escalade SUV in this exceedingly poor country is quite likely to be well connected.

Impunity is a word that comes up over and over in Cambodia. Last month, two men speeding by on a motorbike shot and killed Khim Sambor and his 21-year-old son as they walked down the street. Khim was a reporter for Khmer Conscience, an opposition newspaper, and not surprisingly the paper had been writing critically about the government.

No one has been arrested. That is true for dozens of apparent contract killings in recent years just like that one. No one has proved that government officials are behind them. But then, why else would the police make no effort to solve any of these crimes?

Cambodia has come a long way in the last several years. Phnom Penh is teeming with tourists. The economy is growing. The nation has been stable for more than a decade now, which is no small accomplishment.

Over the years, I have worked in many corrupt states - Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, among others. But in none of them is the corruption so pervasive, even pandemic. Prime Minister Hun Sen just won re-election to a new five-year term. For a decade, the United States and many other countries have been pressing him to pass a comprehensive anti-corruption law. Hun continually promises but never delivers.

Cambodians deserve better. If Cambodia hopes to join the ranks of the world's prosperous and respected nations, it must enact - and enforce - an anti-corruption law. With that, in time, the shiny mantle of impunity resting softly on the shoulders of the rich and well connected will begin to fall away.

Joel Brinkley is a professor of journalism at Stanford University and a former foreign policy correspondent for the New York Times. E-mail Insight at insight@sfchronicle.com. E-mail Brinkley at brinkley@foreignmatters.com. These and future columns from Southeast Asia were made possible by a grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

VP Ball Now in McCain’s Court

2008-08-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

by FOXNews.com

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Barack Obama finally let the cat out of the bag Saturday in announcing Joe Biden as his vice-presidential pick for the Democratic ticket — which now turns the focus of speculation back on John McCain and whom he will choose as a running mate.

McCain made a congratulatory phone call Saturday to Biden, his long-time Senate colleague, but the soon-to-be Republican presidential nominee also is building anticipation for his own choice of vice president.

McCain is expected to make the announcement at a rally in Ohio on Friday, the day he turns 72 and one day after the Democratic convention ends, potentially minimizing Obama’s post-convention bounce in the polls. The Republican convention will begin the following Monday.

The McCain campaign said Obama’s choice of Biden wouldn’t affect McCain’s decision.

“John McCain is going to make a very principled choice about who he will stand with,” McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told FOX News on Saturday. “It will be someone that is ready to lead, that shares his vision to change Washington and begin to deliver the things that the American people expect.”

Another McCain spokesman, Ben Porritt, told FOX News that Obama’s choice suggests an attempt to overcompensate for a lack of foreign policy and national security experience.

“We’re voting for commander-in-chief, and there is only one,” Porritt said. “Either it is going to be John McCain or Barack Obama. This is not a time for a mentor; this is a time for a commander-in-chief.”

With many Hillary Clinton supporters expressing disappointment in Obama for not choosing her for the Democratic ticket, McCain could try to capitalize by naming a female VP, such as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin or former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

Most experts, though, consider the leading contenders for McCain’s running mate to be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped his presidential bid earlier this year, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Several GOP officials said the campaign was preparing for an “unconventional” nominee, an indication that oft-mentioned former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, an abortion-rights supporter, or Connecticut Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman still could be in the running. That category also could include non-politicians whom McCain deeply admires, such as Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Some GOP pundits warned McCain to steer clear of Ridge because of his support for abortion rights. But others have said that McCain could get away with picking Ridge if he reassured social conservatives that his running mate would support his views regardless of personal beliefs.

Romney, who bitterly competed against McCain in the primary, could be viewed as a liability because of his Mormon faith, which might not sit well with Christian conservatives.

Two officials close to Romney said he had not been offered the job. Pawlenty batted away questions Friday in a CNN interview, saying, “I’m sure he’ll make a wonderful choice for our party and for our country and we’ll just have to wait until next Friday to find out the answer to those questions.”

The GOP convention begins Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Min.

FOX News’ Serafin Gomez contributed to this report.

Obama Introduces Biden as Running Mate

2008-08-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, appear together Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008, in Springfield, Ill.

By VOA News
23 August 2008

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has praised his newly-named running mate, fellow-Senator Joseph Biden, as a leader uniquely suited to help put America back on the right track.

Obama formally introduced Biden as his vice presidential pick in their first joint appearance as running mates at a rally in Springfield, in the central state of Illinois, Obama's home state.

Obama said Biden is a foreign policy expert and critic of the Bush Administration who above all is a leader "who can step in and be president."

Biden said the nation cannot afford four more years of Republican policies if Republican nominee Senator John McCain wins the November election.

Obama announced his pick for vice president on his Web site early Saturday.

Having Biden on the Democratic Party ticket may help counter Republican claims that Obama does not have enough foreign policy experience to lead the country.

The 65-year-old Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee. He has been in the Senate for more than 35 years.

Biden and Obama will make campaign stops Sunday one day before the Democratic National Convention opens in Denver, in the western U.S. state of Colorado.

Obama passed over several potential running mates, including Senator Hillary Clinton - his main rival for the Democratic Party's nomination.

Senator Clinton Saturday expressed support for the ticket, describing Biden as "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant".

After a long and bruising nominating contest, Clinton has worked with her former rival to unify the Democratic Party and convince her supporters to help put Obama in the White House.

Cambodia's athletes seek a better playing field

2008-08-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hem Bunting: With proper support, Cambodia could be competitive in international sports.

CNN

byRebecca Byerly

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Without proper food, shoes, or support from his government, Hem Bunting, the Cambodian Olympic marathon competitor, prepared for the Olympics and hoped for international support in late July.

"It is hard to compete at an Olympic level when you do not get any support from the government," panted Bunting, 25, who had just run intervals on the bleachers of the dilapidated Olympic stadium in the capital.

A week before the four Cambodian athletes were scheduled to attend the opening of the Olympic Games, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia, Dr. Thong Kohn, appealed to all companies, suppliers, and donors for the $18,423 needed to send the four athletes and 10 supporters to the games in Beijing. The list included funds for shoes, Olympic uniforms, and pocket money.

A representative of the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia said there was insufficient money for sports. Programs for sports would develop as education in the country improved.

"We need to improve and reform several sectors in Cambodia's education programs," explained Sambath Sothea, who is in charge of the Sports Marketing Program for the Cambodian Olympic Team.

"Part of this improvement should be in sports education, which is an important part of the personal development of young people who are the future of our nation. People have the tendency to forget Cambodia is a nation on the rise and need to give it some time to grow."

Once referred to as the Pearl of Asia, Cambodia's sports programs, economy, and infrastructure were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge reign, where it is estimated that 1.5 million people were killed between 1975 and 1979. The country has only now begun to emerge on the global market, with the country's first stock exchange scheduled to start in 2009.

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Bunting believed the only way sports would develop was through private donors.

"If we could get sponsored, we could go somewhere with sports in Cambodia, but the government is not going to support us because they are busy with other things," said the runner, whose best marathon time of 2 hours 26 minutes, 28 seconds placed him second at the Sea Games, a competition held among South East Asian countries.

"I work really hard but do not even have the basic things I need, like nutritious food to eat or clothes for training." Bunting ran on the busy streets of the capital without proper running shoes until the American New Zealand Bank (ANZ) sponsored him.

Sothea believed the partnership between the public and private sector was critical for the development of sports in the country.

"The government needs to reform sports and give it a more reliable structure," said Sothea who earned his law degree in France. "The private sector will be responsible for making investments."

In wake of the recent elections held in the country, which ushered in relative peace and political stability, major investment companies have flocked to Cambodia. Some of these investors considered sports a potential investment opportunity.

"From supporting the training and finances of an Olympic athlete to building industrial parks and helping Cambodia become a leading rice exporter, we want to invest in areas that Cambodians take pride in," said Marvin Yeo, the co-founder of Frontier Investment Partners. Yeo's firm planned to devote over $250 million to an array of areas, which include real estate, infrastructure, manufacturing, and agriculture throughout the next decade.

Another investor was also hopeful about Cambodia's future.

"The next five years will be the time investment takes off in Cambodia and the country starts to put itself on the map," explained Douglas Clayton, founder of Leopard Capital, which manages a private equity fund that invests in Cambodia. "You will see a major change in the country, and things like sports, which have been overlooked because of the lack of government support, may start to receive some funding from the private sector."

From farming to development

The growing interest in sports is another indicator of the country's aptitude for development. Cambodia has begun to see a generation that has taken an avid interest in their educations and future careers.

"Development is good for Cambodia," said Bunting, whose village got electricity only two years ago. "I would not have gotten a good education if it had not been for the foreigners who came to my village and started a school."

Though his parents were poor, uneducated rice farmers, Bunting studied development at Cambodia University and wanted to work with foreign organizations in the remote areas of the country to improve education and infrastructure. His talent for running was first discovered when he competed in a national competition in Phnom Penh several years ago.

Bunting is part of the growing number of youths who are becoming more socially aware in Cambodia.

"The days of the Khmer Rouge are over now, and the youth in Cambodia face different challenges, like how to become socially conscious and have a voice in the development of their country," said Long Kat, 35, the director of Youth for Peace in Cambodia.

While 50 percent of the country's population is under 25, and young people between the ages of 18 and 30 comprise more than 50 percent of eligible voters, they have only recently begun to engage in politics and their communities.

"Cambodia is not competitive in sports, education, or most jobs right now because we don't have any competition and little opportunity in the country," said Bunting. "But I think with the right support this could change."

Bunting said education and employment are the greatest concerns of his generation.

Investment in education

While both of these areas are projected to improve, some individuals remain skeptical of the many flaws that remain in the system. Investors pour in, but some intellectuals' wonder what exactly is being done to improve the educational system and how this will impact the alarmingly high rate of unemployment.

"I lived in Cambodia for five years in the early 90's," exclaimed Clodagh O'Brian, who worked for an NGO in the capital at that time. "The city has transformed with buildings, paved roads, and soon skyscrapers. But, what has not changed that much are the schools. I would like to know how much investment is going back in to education."

Reports of corruption and bribes in schools are common, and children have limited opportunities in the current educational system. Education is one of the areas that Yeo and Clayton claim will improve as a result of the incoming investments.

"You will see growth in some sectors of education," said Clayton, who has worked in Asia over 20 years. "For example, as investors build more hotels in the country, others may start to invest in hotel management schools and language schools. Cambodia will gradually produce more skilled English-speaking workers."

Despite the difficulties posed by the poor infrastructure and the many challenges he faces, Bunting remained optimistic about Cambodia's future. "Being an athlete and just trying to live in Cambodia is not easy," sighed Bunting. "But, I think in several years, it could get better."

Sothea agreed. "The important thing is not to win, but to take part," quoted Sambeth, who burrowed the philosophy from Baron Pierre De Cobertin, the President of the International Olympic Committee. "Instead of complaining about where Cambodia is we need to have a collective vision for where the country is going. Let's meet up again eight years from now and see where Cambodia and her athletes are."

Troops step back at second Thai-Cambodia border temple: officials

2008-08-06T09:35:00.001-07:00

A Thai soldier (right) cleans his weapon as a Cambodian

soldier carrying a B40 rocket talks to him

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian and Thai officials said Wednesday that tensions over a second disputed Khmer ruin on their joint border had been resolved and troops had returned to their stations.
Thailand and Cambodia began trading barbs on Sunday over the Ta Muen Thom ruins, which are about 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of the better known Preah Vihear temple and are currently under Thai control.
Officials from Cambodia said Thai soldiers had prevented their troops from entering the temple compound for religious worship, while Thailand's military chief demanded that Cambodia withdraw its forces from near the area.
"In recent days, Thai troops moved to the temple and banned our troops from entering there," said Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh.
"But we have already resolved the problem with each other. It is okay now. All (Cambodian and Thai) troops withdrew to their original bases."
Tea Banh, however, maintained that Ta Muen Thom belonged to Cambodia.
Major General Kanon Netrakavaesana, the commander of Thailand's border task force, said the atmosphere at the temple had eased.
"All soldiers from Thailand and Cambodia, who met at the border next to the temple, have both stepped back since late Tuesday afternoon, he told AFP.
Military and border officials from Thailand have denied they increased their troop presence at Ta Muen Thom, saying there had been a paramilitary presence there for almost a decade.
Tensions between the neighbours flared last month when Preah Vihear temple, which the World Court has ruled belongs to Cambodia, was listed as a UN heritage site, angering nationalists in Thailand who still regard it as Thai.
On July 15, three Thais were arrested in the area by Cambodian forces, sparking the deployment of about 1,000 Thai and Cambodian troops on a small patch of disputed land near the temple.
Thailand's cabinet agreed in principle Tuesday to pull back some troops from near the Preah Vihear temple, although no timescale was laid out.
"We have not received an order from our superiors. We'll move when we have that order," Kanon said.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a speech broadcast on national radio that although a war could have erupted over Preah Vihear, his country was committed to resolving the dispute peacefully.
"If the prime minister were not Prime Minister Hun Sen, a Cambodian-Thai war would have happened," he said.
But he said Cambodia would resolve the problem through "cooperation and friendly negotiations, because there is a misunderstanding about the border".

Bush signs housing bill to provide mortgage relief

2008-07-31T16:26:00.001-07:00

By JENNIFER LOVEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday signed a massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners and stabilize financial markets.

Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, affixing his signature to the measure he once threatened to veto, in the Oval Office in the early morning hours. He was surrounded by top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing Secretary Steve Preston.

"We look forward to put in place new authorities to improve confidence and stability in markets," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. He said that the Federal Housing Administration would begin right away to implement new policies "intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes."

The measure, regarded as the most significant housing legislation in decades, lets homeowners who cannot afford their payments refinance into more affordable government-backed loans rather than losing their homes.

It offers a temporary financial lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and tightens controls over the two government-sponsored businesses.

The House passed the bill a week ago; the Senate voted Saturday to send it to the president.

Bush didn't like the version emerging from Congress, and initially said he would veto it, particularly over a provision containing $3.9 billion in neighborhood grants. He contended the money would benefit lenders who helped cause the mortgage meltdown, encouraging them to foreclose rather than work with borrowers.

But he withdrew that threat early last week, saying hurting homeowners could not wait — and even blaming the Democratic Congress' delays in action for forcing an imperfect solution.

Meanwhile, many Republicans, particularly those from areas hit hardest by housing woes, were eager to get behind a housing rescue as they looked ahead to tough re-election contests. Paulson's request for the emergency power to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped push through the measure. So did the creation of a regulator with stronger reins on the government-sponsored companies, as Republicans long have sought.

Democrats won cherished priorities in the bargain: the aid for homeowners, a permanent affordable housing fund financed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the neighborhood grants.

The bill takes several approaches to curing the ailing housing market.

It aims to spare an estimated 400,000 debt-strapped homeowners, many of whom owe more their houses are worth, from foreclosure by allowing them to get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration.

The FHA could insure $300 billion in such mortgages, which would be available to homeowners who showed they could afford a new loan. Banks would first have to agree to take a large loss on the existing loans in exchange for avoiding an often-costly foreclosure.

The plan also is designed to relieve a broader credit crunch that has taken hold because of rising defaults and falling home values. To free up safer and more affordable mortgage credit, the bill permanently would increase to $625,000 the size of home loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy and the FHA can insure. They also could buy and back mortgages 15 percent higher than the median home price in certain areas.

It goes far beyond addressing the current crisis, however.

The legislation overhauls the Depression-era FHA. It requires lenders to show how high a borrower's payment could get under the terms of his mortgage. It provides $180 million in pre-foreclosure counseling for struggling homeowners.

The Treasury Department gains unlimited power, until the end of 2009, to lend money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or buy their stock should they need it. The Federal Reserve takes on a new "consultative" role overseeing the companies.

The measure includes $15 billion in tax cuts, including a significant expansion of the low-income housing tax credit and a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time home buyers for houses purchased between April 9, 2008, and July 1, 2009.

Democratic leaders, recognizing that the measure could be one of the last items to become law during what's left of their abbreviated election-year schedule, tacked on an $800 billion increase, to $10.6 trillion, in the statutory limit on the national debt.

Conservative Republicans were vehemently opposed to the bill, particularly the help for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Critics charge the companies enjoy lavish profits in good times and wield their outsized political clout to resist regulation while depending on the government to bail them out should they falter.

DODD, SHELBY ANNOUNCE HOUSING BILL TO BE CONSIDERED BY SENATE

2008-07-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Jun 17, 2008 - -

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, announced that they have completed bipartisan legislation that includes major efforts to address the housing crisis. By providing relief to hundreds of thousands of American homeowners and introducing broad improvements to the nation’s housing system, the legislation will help to contain the current problems in the housing markets and prevent another crisis of this magnitude. The Senate may begin debate on the bill as soon as today.

Please click here to read more...

Cambodian opposition supporters rally against election results

2008-07-30T22:35:00.001-07:00

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy (left

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — About 300 supporters of Cambodia's main opposition party rallied in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to protest the results of the weekend election and to demand a re-run of the poll.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party has claimed victory in the Sunday poll, saying it captured at least 90 of the 123 seats in parliament, giving it more than a two-thirds majority.

"We cannot accept the results of the election. Please cancel the results of the election and hold a re-vote," opposition leader Sam Rainsy told the crowd gathered inside his party headquarters in the capital.

Sam Rainsy has estimated that one million out of 8.1 million registered voters were cut from the rolls, although European Union election observers have pegged that figure at 50,000.

"It is very unjust," Sam Rainsy said to the cheering crowds, adding that he will file complaints against National Election Committee (NEC) officials.

Dozens of police were deployed along the streets near Sam Rainsy Party headquarters to prevent a public demonstration. The party's deputy secretary general Mu Sochua stood at the entrance, shouting over a loudhailer that the election was "not free and unfair" and urging people to join the rally inside.

NEC secretary general Tep Nytha denied the opposition allegation that one million people had been denied a vote and said there was no law that permitted a re-run of the entire election.

"The case that one million people could not vote because their names had been disappeared from voting lists is not correct," he told AFP.

International monitors said Tuesday the election was flawed and did not meet key standards despite improvements in electoral processes.

EU criticises Cambodia election

2008-07-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

EU monitors said thousands of people were prevented from voting

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7531184.stm

By Guy Delauney BBC News, Phnom Penh

Monitors from the European Union say Cambodia's recent general election fell short of international standards.
They said the governing party dominated the media and the National Election Committee (NEC), and tens of thousands of people were disenfranchised.
But they also praised the smooth running of what was described as a "technically good" election.
The EU observers were among 17,000 local and international monitors who observed the election.
While their findings were a mixed bag, there was certainly more criticism than praise.
The key issue was impartiality and the role of the governing Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
Large majority
The EU team said the CPP had made "consistent and widespread" use of state resources for its own campaigning efforts.
The party dominated media coverage to an unacceptable degree, and the presence of officials connected to the CPP on the NEC compromised that institution's independence.
The monitors said the NEC had disenfranchised 50,000 registered voters by allowing their names to be removed from the electoral roll. But the EU's chief observer, Martin Callanan, said that had not affected the result of the election.
"Under the provisional results that have been published, the CPP clearly has a very large majority," he said.
"Therefore any irregularities which were proved would have to be on a very large scale in order to invalidate that result.''
The opposition parties beg to differ.
Four of them have rejected the provisional results, which give the CPP an overall majority.
They claim that hundreds of thousands of their supporters were unable to vote and that similar numbers of ineligible people were allowed to cast ballots.

Cambodia's poll 'did not meet key international standards'

2008-07-29T05:52:00.001-07:00

A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Despite improvements in electoral processes, Cambodia's recent election was flawed and did not meet key standards, international monitors said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 59.6 percent of the vote in Sunday's election, compared with nearly 21 percent for the nearest rival, the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, according to a partial count by Cambodian electoral authorities.

But the poll was marred by the CPP's domination of media coverage, the improper deletion of people from registration lists so they could not vote, and other irregularities, said a preliminary report by 130 European Union election monitors.

"While the campaign was generally conducted in a more peaceful and open environment compared to previous elections, the 2008 National Assembly Elections have fallen short of a number of key international standards for democratic elections," said Martin Callanan, who led the EU observers.

"Ultimately, it's up to the Cambodian people to accept or reject the results," Callanan said, adding that the EU would issue a more detailed report with recommendations in October.

The Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL) called for an investigation and "a serious penalty" for manipulation of the vote.

"The election was maybe free, but not fair at all," said Somsri Hananuntasuk, head of ANFREL's election monitoring mission to Cambodia.

The main problem was people being deleted from voter lists, while there also needed to be limits on campaign financing and the ruling party's control of media, she said.

The EU calculated that 50,000 voters were left off rolls, but Callanan said that would not have greatly affected the election since early results show a large majority for the CPP.

"Any irregularities that were proved would clearly have to be on a very large scale in order to invalidate that result," he said.

However, the four minority parties rejected the outcome, accusing the CPP of fiddling with the voter rolls to ensure their victory.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy estimated that one million out of 8.1 million registered voters had been cut from the rolls. He said his party members observed 50 to 100 people at each of the country's 15,000 polling stations had been unable to vote.

"The large-scale irregularities here can change the result of the election. I'm disappointed that such a so-called expert could make such a mistake," Sam Rainsy told AFP Tuesday outside the EU's press conference.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted lower violence from previous elections but said in a Tuesday statement it had observed "threats, intimidation and inducements directed against political activists" to get them to change parties.

The CPP has claimed victory, saying it captured at least 90 of the 123 seats in parliament, giving them more than a two-thirds majority.

Local rights groups have expressed concern that if the CPP did secure a majority there would be fewer checks and balances in the country's fledgling democracy.

At 55, Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for 23 years and has vowed to remain in power until he is 90. He had been widely tipped to win amid a booming economy and nationalist sentiment sparked by a border feud with Thailand.

Ruling party claims victory in Cambodia polls

2008-07-27T11:43:00.001-07:00

A smiling Hun Sen casts his vote in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's party claimed it won a sweeping victory in Sunday polls, poising him to extend his 23-year rule after a vote overshadowed by a military standoff with Thailand.

"We won the election," party spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, citing tallies by their supporters. "We have more than a two-thirds majority now."

He claimed that the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) had won at least 91 of the 123 seats in parliament, though ballots were still being counted.

The official initial vote count showed the CPP was leading with at least 62 percent of the vote in five of the nation's 24 provinces, election officers said on national television.

Final official results were not expected until next month.

Hun Sen had been widely tipped to win due to a booming economy that has helped improve the quality of life in one of the world's poorest nations, and due to nationalist sentiment sparked by the border feud with Thailand.

Winning two-thirds of the 123 seats in parliament would mean the CPP siphoned away votes from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and royalist Funcinpec, and made a giant improvement on its existing 73-seat majority.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called for a re-vote in Phnom Penh, where his party is strong, alleging 200,000 people there could not vote Sunday after their names were lost from registration lists.

"Neither party won more than two-thirds of the seats," he told reporters, estimating that no party had received more than 70 seats, according to a tally by his supporters.

Election monitors, however, dismissed his claim of vote-rigging and said voting had proceeded smoothly overall.

Voters in the capital started lining up at dawn to cast ballots, with many saying their overriding concern was the territorial dispute with Thailand, centred on the ancient Preah Vihear temple.

"I will vote for those who can solve the issue of Preah Vihear temple immediately after they take power," said 56-year-old businessman Lam Chanvanda, as he stood in a long queue of voters.

"Before I was never interested in the border, but now it is in my heart."

Thousands of soldiers from both sides are facing off near the 11th-century Khmer temple. Foreign ministers from the two nations are set to meet Monday in hopes of resolving the deal.

Analysts had long predicted Hun Sen's victory because of Cambodia's strong economy, which has helped provide new roads, bridges and other improved infrastructure.

"This (victory) is the result of economic development, which has been spectacular, as well as strong campaigning," said Benny Widyono, a former UN envoy to Cambodia.

About 17,000 domestic and international observers monitored the voting at more than 15,000 polling stations. More than eight million people were registered to vote.

US-based Human Rights Watch has complained that the ruling party's near monopoly on broadcast media has undermined the opposition's efforts to woo voters, especially in rural parts of the country.

One radio station was shut down late Saturday after it broadcast a reading from a book by Sam Rainsy, violating rules against campaigning on the day before the vote, said Khieu Kanharith, who is also the government spokesman.

Hun Sen has a reputation for trampling on human rights to secure power. The former Khmer Rouge guerrilla became prime minister in 1985, and has steadily and ruthlessly cemented his grip on power, resorting to a coup in 1997.

In the current campaign, Hun Sen has been aided by his opponents' mistakes. His current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec party, has imploded under internal corruption scandals.

The Sam Rainsy Party was expected to maintain its strength in the capital but has made few inroads into rural Cambodia, where most voters live.

Although the campaign has been less violent than past elections, Human Rights Watch warned that a history of violence remains a source of intimidation against the opposition.

US calls for peaceful resolution of Thai-Cambodia flare-up

2008-07-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (3rd-left) with ASEAN ministry officials

INGAPORE (AFP) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday called for a peaceful resolution to a dangerous border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia as Asia's main security talks were held here.

Foreign ministers from the region and key world powers gathered in Singapore for the ASEAN Regional Forum after an unprecedented meeting here Wednesday between Rice and her North Korean counterpart.

The 27-nation security talks were held against the backdrop of the devastating Myanmar cyclone and Chinese earthquake in May, as well as the bitter territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.

Rice said the deployment of hundreds of troops on either side of the border was an issue of concern.

"It is something that has been a subject of discussion. We are concerned about it and there needs to be a way to resolve it peacefully," she told reporters ahead of the forum.

"We'll continue to consult with the regional states... We're going to be guided very heavily by the views of the countries in this region."

More than 500 Thai troops and at least 1,000 Cambodian soldiers are facing off over a small patch of land near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple, in one of the most dangerous flare-ups of regional tensions in decades.

The dispute is expected to be discussed later Thursday at the UN Security Council after Cambodia called for the world body to help resolve the issue.

Thailand has resisted outside mediation and crisis talks earlier this week among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed to break the deadlock.

The highlight of this week's diplomatic jamboree was an unprecedented meeting Wednesday of foreign ministers of the six nations negotiating North Korea's denuclearisation.

In what was also their first ever meeting, Rice pressed North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun to take new steps on denuclearisation but hailed the "good spirit" at the talks.

Rice shook hands twice with her "axis of evil" counterpart Pak, saying the negotiating partners "believe we've made progress" but urging Pyongyang to agree to a verification protocol on disarmament.

Foreign ministers from their six-party counterparts China, South Korea, Russia and Japan were also present at the informal meeting, the highest-level gathering of the group since the nuclear dialogue began in 2003.

"I don't think the North Koreans left with any illusions about the fact that the ball is in their court, and that everybody believes that they have got to respond and respond positively on verification," Rice said Thursday.

North Korea staged its first nuclear test in 2006 but in February the following year the hermit state agreed to drop its weapons programme in exchange for massive energy aid.

In a draft statement obtained by AFP, the ASEAN Regional Forum welcomed the talks and expressed hope recent progress would speed the process to its third stage, in which North Korea will abandon its nuclear weapons and programmes.

"In this regard, the ministers emphasised the importance of the early establishment of an effective verification mechanism," they said.

Pyongyang is also expected to sign a non-aggression treaty with ASEAN here later Thursday.

Disaster response was another major focus of the meeting after twin disasters in May -- Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar, and the earthquake in southwest China -- that left a total of more than 200,000 people dead or missing.

ASEAN was criticised for failing to pressure military-run Myanmar to open its borders to foreign relief workers in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but won over many of its critics by eventually leading a joint international aid effort.

According to the draft statement, the ASEAN Regional Forum endorsed a US proposal for a region-wide disaster preparedness exercise aimed at ensuring a better response to the next calamity.

Thai PM: Thailand, Cambodia to talk Monday on border dispute

2008-07-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

Thai soldiers greet Cambodian soldiers near the Cekakiri Svarak pagoda of the Preah Vihear temple, about 245 km (152 miles) north of Phnom Penh, July 24, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

www.chinaview.cn

BANGKOK, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday that his Cambodian counterpart has told him that Cambodia would withdraw its petition filed earlier with the United Nations Security Council on a border dispute, and that the two sides will hold a bilateral talk on Monday.

Samak told reporters that he just talked to Cambodian premier Hun Sen, and the two agreed to hold a meeting on ministerial levelin Siem Reap, Cambodia on July 28, according to a report on the Bangkok Post website.

Thailand's former Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama had resigned from the post early this month, following a court ruling that found it an unconstitutional act for Noppadon to sign the Thai-Cambodian Joint Communique in June, which endorsed Thailand's support for Cambodia's application with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to list the ancient Preah Vihear temple at the disputed border area as World Heritage Site.

The UNESCO approved the application from Cambodia earlier this month despite Thailand's withdrawal of support, 46 years after the International Court of Justice ruled to confirm Cambodia's ownership of the 11th-century Hindu temple, which had been claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand.

The two neighbors have also been engaged in a conflict about a 4.6-square km border area claimed by both sides adjacent to the temple, an issue which was boiled again amidst Thailand's recent domestic political turmoil. The opponents of the Samak government claimed its earlier endorsement of support for Cambodia' s World Heritage bid would put Thailand at a disadvantage in border demarcation.

The atmosphere has intensified after both countries dispatched more troops to the disputed border area.

Samak's remarks on Thursday came after the Cambodia filed a complaint with the Security Council to ask for UN to help resolve the border dispute, but ASEAN, the regional bloc of which Thailand and Cambodia are both members, has expressed the wish to leave the matter be solved on a bilateral level, rather than to bother the UN.

It is not known yet if the Samak-government would complete the expected cabinet reshuffle to have the Foreign Ministry top post filled by Monday so that to have a proper representative to be engaged in the talks with the Cambodian Foreign Minister.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council convened an one-hour special session on the Thai-Cambodia border row Thursday upon Cambodia's petition to decide whether to referee, but has postponed a resolution decision, according to Thai Ambassador to the UN Don Pramudwinai.

The Security Council is expected to reconvene the discussion later in the evening Bangkok time, according the Thai envoy to the UN.

Cambodia seeks UN intervention in Thai dispute

2008-07-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

A Cambodian soldier relaxes near a rocket launcher outside a Buddhist pagoda where Thai soldiers have occupied, near Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 22, 2008. Cambodia has requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to break a military stalemate with neighboring Thailand over disputed frontier territory around a historic temple. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Associated Press

By SOPHENG CHEANG –

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to intervene in its dispute with Thailand over land near an ancient temple, saying the standoff had created "an imminent state of war."
But a clash seemed a remote possibility near the hilltop Preah Vihear temple, where more than 4,000 troops from both countries were camped out. The soldiers — some without their weapons — shared cigarettes, ate and chatted together in a disputed area a few hundred yards from the site.
Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, using the harshest terms yet in the confrontation, said he had no choice but to appeal to the U.N. after discussions with Thailand on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough in the weeklong crisis. He made a similar request to the grouping of Southeast Asian nations.
"In the face of this imminent state of war, this very serious threat to our independence and territorial integrity, we have an obligation to resort to the U.N. Security Council," Hor Namhong said.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat rejected the appeal to the U.N., saying he still felt "that bilateral options are still not exhausted."
After the meeting with Hor Namhong, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli told reporters that "we're disappointed that this has happened."
"The movement of troops is something that is always worrisome," he said following the talks, which included other foreign ambassadors. "When you have that many young men with that many weapons in that close proximity, there's always a danger of violence."
The dispute over 1.8 square miles of land near the Preah Vihear temple escalated earlier this month when UNESCO approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site.
Thailand sent troops to the border July 15 after anti-government demonstrators attacked Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government for supporting Cambodia's application to UNESCO. They claim the temple's new status will undermine Thailand's claim to land around the temple. Cambodia responded with its own deployment.
On the Thai side of the border, Thailand's regional commander Lt. Gen. Sujit Sithiprapa said he was confident that fighting would not break out.
"Although we have troops up there, there is clear understanding and clear order that no one will use force," Sujit told an Associated Press reporter. "The governments will have to resolve legal issues but the situation here remains normal."
Similar sentiments were expressed by Cambodian officers. "Nothing has changed. We have received orders to continue maintaining patience" after the talks failed, Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Tuesday.
But the atmosphere in a border town of Kantaralak in Thailand's Sisaket province was less optimistic, with villagers expressing fears that the government would resort to military action, which would damage the tourism industry.
"I don't want to lose Thai soil to Cambodia and I believe Thailand would do everything to protect our sovereignty," Boonruem Pongsapan, a local teacher at the border town of Kantaralak, said. "But I am scared there will be military action. Most parents of my students rely on tourists. What would we do now?"
Associated Press writers Ambika Ahuja and Sutin Wannabovorn in Bangkok, Thailand, Ker Munthit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Sumeth Panpetch along the Thai-Cambodian border contributed to this report.

Tensions High as Cambodia Claims Thailand Has Violated Territory in Temple Dispute

2008-07-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > WORLD

AP

July 20, 2008: A Cambodian Buddhist monk at the entrance gate on the border between Cambodia and Thailand near Preah Vihear temple.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia — Cambodia complained to the U.N. Security Council that Thai forces have violated its territory near a World Heritage Site temple, as more than 4,000 troops from the two sides were deployed in the border region Sunday.

The two countries were to hold talks Monday in Thailand aimed at resolving the dispute, but a Cambodian general said he had little hope they would succeed.

Cambodia's mission at the United Nations submitted a letter to the chairman of the Security Council and the chairman of the General Assembly to "draw their attention to the current situation on the Cambodian-Thai border," Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said Sunday.

"Cambodia is not asking for U.N. intervention. We still stick to Prime Minister Hun Sen's instructions to try to solve the problem peacefully between the two sides," the minister said.

The conflict over territory surrounding the ancient Preah Vihear Hindu temple escalated when UNESCO recently approved Cambodia's application to have the complex named a World Heritage Site. Thai activists say the new status will undermine Thailand's claim to nearby land.

The tension, which began Tuesday, is centered on the compound of a Buddhist temple near the Preah Vihear temple complex. Cambodia and Thailand both claim the compound.

In his letter Friday to the Security Council, Cambodian U.N. Ambassador Sea Kosal said the action by Thai troops was aimed at creating "a de facto overlapping area that legally does not exist on Cambodian soil." A copy of the letter was obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday.

Based on estimates by commanders and AP reporters on both sides of the border, more than 4,000 troops have been deployed around the temple and in the immediate border region.

Reporters saw at least nine Thai military trucks hauling small artillery pieces and soldiers toward the disputed area Sunday, but the atmosphere appeared relaxed despite the close proximity of the two forces.

Opposing commanders and their troops have tried to defuse tensions, sometimes even sharing meals, snapping photographs and sleeping within easy sight of each other.

"Some of these soldiers [the Cambodians and the Thais] have known one another a long time and they have good relationships. The soldiers on both sides understand each other," Thai field commander Col. Chayan Huaysoongnern told reporters.

A Cambodian general, however, said he had little hope that the talks Monday between his government and Thailand would resolve the matter.

Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops have deployed artillery about half a mile northeast of Preah Vihear temple.

"Regarding the talks tomorrow, we have little hope about the outcome," Chea Keo said.

He said the reason for his pessimism stems from a recent counterclaim by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that the area around the Buddhist temple belongs to Thailand.

While urging both sides to exercise restraint, Samak's letter said a settlement of Cambodians in that area constitutes "a continued violation of Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Maj. Gen. Weewalit Jornsamrit, a senior Thai commander at the border, said an estimated 1,300 Cambodian troops were deployed in and around Preah Vihear.

Weewalit declined to give Thai troop numbers but a senior Thai officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive situation, said about 2,600 soldiers were in the Thai district opposite the border. About 400 were seen in the disputed area.

"We continue to be on alert at all times. And at the same time, we keep instructing our soldiers to be patient and avoid being blamed for starting a war," Chea Keo said Sunday.

The dispute has taken a toll on tourism in the area, with the Thai side closed to visitors. It also is starting to hurt economic relations between the two neighbors.

CAMBODIA: Farmers turn back to oxen as fuel price rises

2008-07-07T12:23:00.001-07:00

Photo: Van Reoun/IRIN
Cambodian farmers shifted to mechanical tillers in recent years instead of using oxen and other droughted animals but they are now finding the high cost of fuel is eliminating any profit margin

BATTANBANG, 7 July 2008 (IRIN) - The soaring price of fuel, fertiliser and food is a common complaint of Cambodian farmers, but spiraling inflation is creating newer and tougher challenges, especially for rural communities. Vann Than, a 55-year-old farmer and father of six in Popeal Khe village, is feeling the burden of fuel costs and loan repayments on a mechanical tiller he bought to plough his five-hectare rice field. Until 2006, when he upgraded to the mechanical tiller, Vann Than had used an ox-drawn plough. In any other year, Vann Than told IRIN, repaying the loan would be manageable, but the annual jump in the inflation rate - to 18.7 percent in January 2008, according to the National Institute of Statistics Consumer Price Index - has taken a heavy financial toll, particularly when he is struggling to pay for diesel fuel, which has doubled in price, and fertiliser, which has also increased significantly. "We spend everything on these higher costs. I don't think we will make any profits from our rice field this year," he said. Similar stories of rural hardship are common in the northwestern part of the country, 300km from the capital Phnom Penh. In Thma Koul district's Popeal Khe village, dozens of mechanical ploughs are parked in front of farmhouses. Three years ago, many farmers in this village sold their draught animals to purchase mechanical ploughs. They believed the mechanical tillers would prepare their fields faster and thus increase productivity and profits. In the rush to mechanise, only three families among dozens in the community continued using oxen, villagers told IRIN. Now with the cost of diesel increasing, they regret abandoning their draught animals so quickly, Koy Kean, 68, the village chief, told IRIN. For those who did not buy tillers, but sold their animals anyway, and now rent the services of those with private tillers, each planting season the cost of field preparation is almost as much as owning a tiller outright. According to Koy Kean, the cost of tilling a one-hectare rice paddy has risen from US$39 last year to $51 this year.

Production mix
Photo: Van Reoun/IRIN
Small scale farmers are increasingly using drought animals for their tilling and the manure as a cheap, natural alternative to high-priced chemical fertilizerChan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said that in general using mechanical tillers was more productive than tilling with draught animals, but the steeply rising fuel costs had upset that equation. He suggested farmers needed to be flexible and probably should retain their draught animals - including buffaloes, oxen and cattle - for times such as these. And it is just that mix of animal and machine that Vann Than said he was using to minimise his production costs this year. On his five hectares, he first used his mechanical tiller to break the soil and then, on a second pass-over, he used his oxen to plough deeper furrows. "As fuel prices, as well as the cost of fertiliser, soar, we will make less profits," Vann Than said, adding that the price of 50 kg of fertiliser had doubled to $40. Chan Sarun, the Agriculture Minister, told IRIN of his concern that some farmers who used mechanical tillers were now feeling the effects of fuel hikes. He recommended that those who owned small plots of farmland stick to using oxen. He also suggested that farmers cut back on high-priced chemical fertiliser and rely more on manure and compost as an alternative. In addition, he advocated the use of improved seed varieties and better planting techniques to increase yields. "If the farmers use better seeds with well-levelled fields they will produce higher yields," Chan Sarun said, adding that the increased use of manure made sense as too much chemical fertiliser made soil less fertile over time. vr/bj/mw
Theme(s): (IRIN) Economy, (IRIN) Food Security [ENDS]

Thais rally over Cambodia border dispute

2008-06-19T04:51:00.001-07:00

Thousands of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members protest outside Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, June 18, 2008. The protestors accused the Thai government of yielding a disputed border region with an ancient temple to Cambodia, the latest trouble for the embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej who has been facing daily protests calling for his resignation. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators accused the Thai government Wednesday of yielding a disputed border region with an ancient temple to Cambodia, the latest trouble for the embattled prime minister who has been facing daily protests calling for his resignation.

Led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, about 5,000 people gathered in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and accused the minister, Noppadon Pattama, of giving into the Cambodians in exchange for business concessions.

The Preah Vihear temple, dating back to the 11th century, has been the subject of a boundary dispute since the 1950s. The International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the cliffside temple was within Cambodian territory.

Accusing the government of corruption and abuse of power, demonstrators have been holding sometimes violent protests since May 25 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his coalition government.

The protesters say Samak is merely acting as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in September 2006.

The political discord heightened Wednesday after opposition Democrat Party lawmakers lodged a no-confidence motion against Samak and seven other Cabinet members over alleged conflict of interest and mismanagement.

The Preah Vihear temple issue resurfaced as Cambodia was preparing to apply to UNESCO for the temple to be listed as a World Heritage Site, a process that requires the inclusion of a map.

Sondhi Limthongkul, a key leader of the anti-government alliance, alleged that Noppadon gave up some territory near the temple in exchange for his "boss" — Thaksin — getting concessions to develop a casino complex on Cambodia's Koh Kong island.

Noppadon served as Thaksin's lawyer and continues to have close ties with him.

Waving Thai flags, the protesters held up placards reading, "Thailand is not for sale," and "Bandit government sold Thai soil to Cambodia."

Noppadon denied the allegations.

"The minister of foreign affairs deserves flowers instead of brickbats," Noppadon said, adding that not "a single square centimeter" of Thai soil was lost during recent negotiations with Cambodia.

He said Cambodia had drawn up two maps, one of the temple and the other of the adjacent area.

Noppadon said the Cambodians will present only the temple map in their upcoming request to UNESCO. The second map, which includes the disputed boundary, will not be an issue and thus Thailand has not yielded any territory, he said.

Samak's People Power Party won general elections last December. His new Cabinet is packed with Thaksin's allies and relatives, and critics say rehabilitating the former leader is among the new government's top priorities.

A court disbanded Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party last year and banned him from public office until 2012.

Hun Sen faces few challengers as Cambodia vote nears

2008-06-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — With nearly six weeks until Cambodia's general election, almost everyone says they already know the result.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, Southeast Asia's longest-serving leader besides the sultan of Brunei, has spent much of his 23 years in power ruthlessly undermining his political rivals, who are now so weakened that analysts say none have much hope of success.

Cambodia has 57 parties, but only 11 are running in the July 27 poll -- less than half the number that contested the last national election five years ago.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) towers above them all.

"Who will win? The CPP. No doubt about that. Even without taking into consideration threats, pressure and vote buying, the CPP is the one with the people on the ground," said Cambodian political analyst Chea Vannath.

The CPP was installed by communist Vietnam in 1979, after Hanoi invaded and toppled the Khmer Rouge -- the genocidal regime behind Cambodia's infamous "Killing Fields."

While the CPP has dropped its communist ideology, it retains a ubiquitous presence across the country and a tight grip on every level of government.

"Government and administrative offices throughout the country are very extensive and tightly controlled," said Lao Mong Hay, senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission.

Opposition members have already accused Hun Sen of buying off their supporters by offering them attractive jobs, a charge the premier has brushed off.

"They say that we are buying people. We are the ruling party -- we have the right to appoint them to positions of power," Hun Sen said last week, during one of his daily televised speeches given at events big and small across the country.

Hun Sen, 55, became prime minister in 1985 and has single-mindedly focused on staying in power, publicly vowing to remain in office until he turns 90.

He actually lost his first election to a royalist party in UN-backed polls in 1993, but bargained his way into becoming a "second prime minister" and then reasserted total control in a 1997 coup.

Hundreds of people were killed in the run-up to elections the following year. Protests against Hun Sen's victory were put down violently.

The last national election in 2003 was far less violent, but plunged the kingdom into a year of political stalemate as parties wrangled over forming a coalition.

The party's current coalition partner, the royalist Funcinpec, has been hobbled by infighting and the ouster of its leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who has formed his own eponymous party.

With their ranks divided, analysts say the royalists appear spent as a political force.

The main opposition Sam Rainsy Party is expected to win few votes outside the capital. Hun Sen rival Kem Sokha has formed a new Human Rights Party that will be cutting its teeth in the polls.

Some 8.1 million people are registered to vote at 15,000 polling stations, under the eyes of more than 13,000 domestic and international observers.

During his rule, Hun Sen has steered the impoverished country out of the ashes of civil war and grown the economy by opening up to trade and tourism.

Garment exports and tourism have brought double-digit economic growth, but Cambodia remains one of the world's poorest countries. Some 35 percent of its 14 million people live on less than 50 US cents a day.

Spiralling inflation has raised concerns about CPP's management of the economy.

"You can see the price of gasoline goes up every day," analyst Chea Vannath said. "I'm sure it will be one of the main concerns."

But he predicted Hun Sen would nonetheless romp to victory.

"The Cambodian people are traumatized by past experiences, so they don't show up on the street," she said.

NBC’s Tim Russert dies of heart attack at 58

2008-06-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Alex Wong / Getty Images file

NBC News and MSNBC

WASHINGTON - Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” died Friday after suffering a heart attack at the bureau. He was 58.

Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” broadcast when he collapsed. He was rushed to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Russert’s physician, Michael Newman, said cholesterol plaque ruptured in an artery, causing sudden coronary thrombosis.

Russert had earlier been diagnosed with asymptomatic coronary artery disease, but it was well-controlled with medication and exercise, and he had performed well on a stress test in late April, Newman said. An autopsy revealed that he also had an enlarged heart, Newman said.

Russert’s death left his colleagues devastated.

He was “one of the premier political journalists and analysts of his time,” Tom Brokaw, the former longtime anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” said in announcing Russert’s death Friday afternoon. Brian Williams, managing editor and anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” called his death a “staggering, overpowering and sudden loss.”

“Meet the Press,” which he began hosting in 1991, was considered an essential proving ground in the career of any national politician.

“If you could pass the Tim Russert test, you could do something in this field,” said Howard Fineman, senior Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine and a columnist for msnbc.com.

Tenacity and passion
Russert was best known for his on-air tenacity as a reporter and his consuming passion for politics, which were evident during his nearly round-the-clock appearances on NBC and MSNBC on election nights.

Statement from NBC

Statement from Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal:

“We are heartbroken at the sudden passing of Tim Russert. We have lost a beloved member of our NBC Universal family and the news world has lost one of its finest. The enormity of this loss cannot be overstated. More than a journalist, Tim was a remarkable family man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Maureen, their son, Luke, and Tim’s entire extended family.”

But behind the scenes, Russert was also a senior vice president and head of NBC’s Washington operations, orchestrating all of the network’s coverage of government and political news.

“This is a tragic loss for journalism and for all who were privileged to know him,” said Walter Cronkite, the retired anchor and managing editor of ”The CBS Evening News.”

President Bush described Russert as "an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades."

He interrupted a news conference in Paris on Saturday to pay tribute to Russert, saying the world had "lost a really fine American."

"Tim Russert loved his country, he loved his family and he loved his job a lot and we're going to miss him," the president said.

"We send our deepest sympathies to Maureen, his wife, and Luke, his son. I know they are hurting right now and hopefully the prayers of a lot of Tim's friends and a lot of Americans will help them during this time of difficulty."

Earlier this year, Time magazine named Russert one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Mayor Byron Brown ordered flags flown at half-staff in Buffalo, N.Y., his hometown. NBC News' Brokaw was to host a special edition of “Meet the Press” remembering Russert on Sunday morning.

Cambodia - Country Assistance Strategy Progress Report

2008-06-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

www-wds.worldbank.org

Abstract: This note updates the Board on progress in implementing the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Cambodia for the period of FY05-08. The report is fully consistent with the East Asia Regional Strategy, and reflects the work described in that strategy to support the developmental underpinnings for peace, renewed growth and poverty reduction in the poorest and most fragile countries in the region. Nearly three years into implementation, there has been considerable progress towards achieving the expected CAS outcomes, despite implementation delays as a result of problems uncovered in several Bank-supported projects. The 2 pillars on which the CAS was built are: 1) Pillar 1 which removes the governance constraints to attaining the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs), focuses on four objectives: (i) promote private sector development for poverty reduction; (ii) improve natural resources management; (iii) improve service delivery and public financial management, and (iv) support decentralization and promote citizens' partnerships for better governance; and 2) Pillar 2 of the CAS, which supports formulation and implementation of a government-led strategy and investment program for achieving the CMDGs, focuses on two objectives: (i) support the formulation and implementation of a government-led strategy and corresponding investment program for reducing poverty and achieving the CMDGs; and (ii) support with analytical and investment services those under-funded sectors and sub-sectors critical to achieving the CMDGs.

Read the report click here

Statement by an IMF Staff Mission to Cambodia

2008-06-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

www.ifm.org

Press Release No. 08/137
June 6, 2008

An IMF staff mission led by Luis Valdivieso, visited Cambodia during May 28 to June 5, 2008 to hold discussions with senior officials of the Royal Government of Cambodia on recent macroeconomic developments and policies. The mission also met representatives from the business community and development partners.

At the conclusion of the visit, the mission issued the following statement:

"Economic activity in Cambodia remains robust, although the pace of growth is expected to ease to around 7 percent in 2008 from about 10¼ percent in 2007. The moderation mainly reflects slowing garment exports due to weaker external demand and heightened regional competition. Tourism continues to expand at a healthy pace. As a net rice exporter, Cambodia should continue to benefit from higher rice prices, although higher overall food prices will adversely affect the most vulnerable, in particular the urban poor and the landless.

"Inflation has increased sharply, the last published data indicate it rose to 18.7 percent in January 2008. The increase reflects both external shocks and domestic inflation pressures. External factors include higher international oil and food prices, and higher imported-goods prices due to the depreciation of the riel and dollar against the currencies of Cambodia's other major trading partners. Rapid domestic demand growth, fueled by very high growth in commercial bank lending, has also contributed to domestic inflation pressures. These factors have intensified since January. In particular, bank lending growth has increased to over 100 percent year-over-year in early 2008.

"The mission shared the authorities' concern with rising inflation and its adverse impact on the poor, and welcomed the initial package of policy measures to deal with the situation, announced by the Prime Minister on April 23, 2008. Discussions revealed that the policy package could usefully be strengthened to enhance its effectiveness and ensure the sustainability of the stabilization effort.

"The mission emphasized that maintaining a prudent fiscal stance is key to moderating inflation pressures. It recommended efforts be made to limit the overall budget deficit to around one percent of GDP in 2008, so as to continue building up government deposits of 2 percent of GDP in the National Bank to help contain inflation pressures. This would require ongoing strong revenue efforts, and ensuring that additional spending from announced measures is offset by restraining non-priority spending. The mission strongly agreed with the authorities on the importance of safeguarding priority spending, and welcomed their intention to make room for targeted measures to protect the poor within a prudent fiscal envelope.

"The mission supported the authorities' decision to tighten monetary policy as a compliment to fiscal prudence, including through raising reserve requirements, as an appropriate step to assist the effort to contain inflation pressures. This would help rein in very high credit growth and thus begin to reduce demand pressures that have contributed to inflation.

"The authorities emphasized their determination to continue strengthening bank supervision while improving standards for loan classification and collateral valuation. The mission commended ongoing efforts to safeguard the soundness of the financial system.

IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

Public Affairs		Media Relations
Phone:	202-623-7300	Phone:	202-623-7100
Fax:	202-623-6278	Fax:	202-623-6772

Cambodia Intimidates Media, Opposition Before Vote, Groups Say

2008-06-12T06:10:00.001-07:00

www.bloomberg.com

By Michael Heath

une 12 (Bloomberg) -- Cambodia's government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, is using the justice system to intimidate journalists and the opposition before next month's general elections, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

Dam Sith, a candidate of the Sam Rainsy Party and editor of the Khmer Conscience newspaper, was arrested for questioning the role of Hor Namhong, the foreign minister, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge movement, the groups said in a statement.

The arrest ``demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,'' said Brittis Edman, a researcher at London-based Amnesty. It ``sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections.''

The ruling Cambodian People's Party will repeat its victory of 2003 when elections are held July 27 in the South Asian country of 14 million people, Hun Sen said earlier this week. Sam Rainsy spent a year in exile in France from February 2005, during which he was jailed for 18 months in absentia for defaming the prime minister.

Cambodia's economy expanded 9.6 percent in 2007, after growing by at least 10 percent during the previous three years, according to data compiled by the World Bank.

Hun Sen wants to develop oil and mineral resources to attract international investment and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth. About a third of the population live on less than 50 cents a day and 90 percent live in rural areas.

Intimidation Pattern

Dam Sith's arrest is part of a pattern of intimidation against the opposition and independent media in the run-up to the election, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station after it broadcast programming from opposition parties, according to the groups. A week later, independent radio station Angkor Ratha had its license, issued less than six months earlier, revoked after it sold air time to opposition parties, the groups said.

Hun Sen said his party may win two-thirds of seats in the 123-member parliament, the Mekong Times reported yesterday.

The party will probably win at least 81 seats, up from 73, and receive 73 percent of the vote versus 64 percent in the 2003 election, the Phnom Penh-based English-language daily cited him as saying. The Sam Rainsy Party won 24 seats in the last ballot.

Hun Sen formed a coalition government in July 2004 with the royalist Funcinpec party, which won 26 seats in 2003.

Opposition Members

Dam Sith, who is running for election in Phnom Penh, was arrested as Hun Sen's CPP presses opposition members to join the party and punishes those who refuse, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

In March, police detained local Sam Rainsy Party leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still in detention and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP, according to the groups.

The court issued arrest warrants against three other local Sam Rainsy Party leaders, who are in hiding after avoiding arrest, the groups said.

Cambodia's attention has been focused on five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge who are facing trial this year at a United Nations-backed genocide tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during the regime's 1975-1979 rule.

The Khmer Rouge forced the population out of cities as it tried to establish an agrarian state, killing an estimated 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution.

The regime was ousted when Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, plunging the country into civil war. Most fighting stopped after the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that called for a cease-fire and democratic elections, which were held in 1993.

Penal Code

Two years after the elections, Cambodia passed a Press Law that provides some protection to journalists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty said. It's rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia's current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives.

``There's little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,'' Sara Colm, senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.

Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. His newspaper, Khmer Conscience, is one of the few in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the CPP, which controls all television and most radio stations.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net.

US says Cambodia needs to more to fight trafficking

2008-06-05T09:31:00.001-07:00

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCU8dd7ui-WrWOdL45sW5Hy_JvyA

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — The United States said Thursday that Cambodia still needs to do more to fight human trafficking, even though an annual State Department report said the nation had made progress.
The United States this year upgraded Cambodia to Tier 2 on its yearly human trafficking report, after the country increased law enforcement and passed new legislation to crack down on the crime.
Cambodia, which has a reputation as a haven for sex offenders, had ranked below the second tier since 2004 -- raising the risk that Washington could impose sanctions or other punitive measures.
US embassy charge d'affaires Piper Campbell told a press conference that trafficking remains a problem here.
"Trafficking in Cambodia is indeed still prevalent. It's obvious in combating human trafficking that you have to take a multi-dimensional approach that involves education, legislation, law enforcement and also support for victims," he said.
However, some victims claim that they have suffered abuse under the new anti-trafficking legislation.
Chan Dina, head of the Cambodian Prostitute's Union (CPU) which represents about 300 sex workers, said prostitutes have been robbed, beaten and raped by police since a crackdown on brothels began in March.
"The closures abuse the rights of sex workers. They do not want to work the sex industry, but they are destitute, that is why they have decided to do so," Chan Dina told AFP Thursday.
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng told reporters at the press conference that prostitutes abused by police should come forward.
"We ask that they provide evidence to us," Sar Kheng said.
Some 300 prostitutes rallied Wednesday to protest the police abuse amid Cambodia's human trafficking campaign.

THE ROAD TO KHMER INDEPENDENCE

2008-06-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

By
Kenneth T. So
(In collaboration with Monireak Keo)

Cambodia will be celebrating the anniversary of its independence from France on every November 9 since 1953. This essay will examine the history of Cambodia from the period of Prince Norodom Sihanouk ascension to the throne until the time France granted independence to Cambodia. This essay will examine the roles of important Khmer politicians, princes, and king who helped shape the events in Cambodia during this important period of Khmer history. I am not a historian nor a scholar, but I have a lot of interest in Khmer history. My essay will not please everybody, but it is my duty as a Khmer to interpret, discuss, and analyze the events during the above period in an honest and objective manner.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk was crowned king of Cambodia on 25th April 1941 by the French who had ruled and occupied Cambodia for almost 80 years. The French saw in the young 19 years old king a person they could manipulate to fit their colonial rule.

When Prince Sihanouk became king, the world event was in turmoils. World War II had started, France fell to Nazi Germany and the German army had already entered Paris (June 14, 1940). Even though the French was no longer powerful, they somehow still managed to rule the Khmer nation. Taking advantage on the French weakness, the Japanese government of Emperor Hiro Hito took turn to replace the French, and on 9 March 1945 decided to dissolve the French colonial administration. Ironically, Germany was on the verge of collapse and the French were gaining control of their own country. On 13 March 1945 Norodom Sihanouk, as king of Cambodia, declared independence from France. It was a bold move on the part of the young king because the French could replace him with another Khmer prince if they could regain their colonial rule over Cambodia again. Either King Sihanouk was gambling on this move or he was pressured by the Japanese government to do so. Son Ngoc Thanh who opposed the French and fled to Japan previously, returned to Cambodia and was appointed Foreign Minister.

Japan surrendered to the Allied on 15 August 1945 after the US dropped two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Soon after the surrender of the Japanese, a new Cambodian government was established with Son Ngoc Thanh as Prime Minister. The French returned to occupy Cambodia in October 1945 and Son Ngoc Thanh was arrested for collaborating with the Japanese and sent into exile in France. He was put under house arrest. Because of the French action, Son Ngoc Thanh's supporters regrouped in the northwestern part of Cambodia, an area that was still under the control of the Thai government, and formed a new movement called the Khmer Issarak. This movement was formed with the Thai encouragement and support.

Khmer citizens got their taste of brief independence from France during the above period, from March to October 1945. Most Khmer people did not realize that the Khmer Issarak was not a homogenous guerilla movement. The movement was composed of people from different backgrounds, political philosophies, agendas, and ethnicities.

The movement included people from the leftist factions, Vietnamese leftists, true Khmer nationalists, Khmers that were anti monarchy, Khmer Serei people that were loyal to Son Ngoc Thanh, opportunists, and just bandits who had no political affiliation but joined the movement just to take advantage of the chaotic situation in Cambodia by terrorizing people in the countryside.

It is erroneous to call the movement Khmer Issarak. The word Khmer in the movement should not be used here because foreign powers were exploiting the Khmer situation for their own political benefits. The Khmer Issarak movement was analogous to the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP) of Heng Samrin after it had been split from Pol Pot that had foreign agents infiltrated into the party. As a matter of fact, some Khmer Issaraks who were members of the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) helped found the KPRP in 1951 (The Cambodia Communist Party was founded in 1951. KPRP of Heng Samrin was founded in 1979).

Therefore, it is not correct to call the Khmer Issarak movement a nationalist movement that some historians or scholars contended. Due to the threat of the Khmer Issarak movement, King Norodom Sihanouk negotiated with the French for full independence to neutralize the movement that was gaining in popularity. Khmer people in general did not know that they were exploited by foreign powers under the umbrella of Khmer Issarak movement. It was estimated that the Khmer Issarak with the Viet Minh operating alongside the movement was controlling approximately 50 percent of the Khmer territory. In the meantime, the leftist government in Bangkok was overthrown in 1947.

Due to pressure from the Khmer Issarak, the French agreed to let Khmers form political parties in 1946. Two major parties were formed and both were headed by Khmer princes. Prince Sisowath Yutevong [1], at the age of 33 headed the Democratic Party while his rival, Prince Norodom Norindeth at the age of 40 headed the Liberal Party. The two parties were politically and philosophically different in their approach to solving the Khmer problems.

The Democratic Party was a party that believed in civil liberties and parliamentary democracy modeled after the French Fourth Republic. The party advocated a constitutional monarchical system of government with a popularly elected assembly having legislative and deliberative powers. The party was strongly anti-French in sentiment. The Democratic Party platform was demanding the immediate independence from France and wanted a parliamentary form of government. Their members were composed of intellectuals with such luminary personalities like Prince Yutevong, Son Sann, Chhean Vam, Sim Var, Ieu Koeuss, Huy Kanthoul, just to name a few. Penn Nouth was the counselor to the Democratic Party.

In contrast, the Liberal Party that was founded by Prince Norindeth and Sonn Voeunsai did not attract the professional elite bodies like those of the Democratic Party. The party members were composed of landowners, businessmen, top ranking officials, and Buddhist monks. The party advocated respect for human rights, person and property, and better understanding between Khmers and French. The Liberal Party preferred to retain some form of partnership with France and favored a gradual democratic reform instead of a sudden breakup espoused by the Democratic Party. The French actively supported the Liberal Party of Prince Nodindeth and very much opposed the Democratic Party of prince Yutevong.

Why did the Democrats choose Prince Yutevong of royal blood to head the Democratic Party instead of a commoner? Before answering the above question, it is perhaps necessary to understand the background of the prince first. The prince was an intellectual and well educated. He graduated from the Faculty of Sciences in Montpellier, France in 1941 with a doctorate degree in Physical Sciences with high honor (mention très honorable). Before returning to Cambodia after he finished his study, Prince Yutevong had represented the French Union as its Delegate at the Conference in Hot Springs, USA. He also worked for the French Ministry of Outre-Mer. Not only was the prince a French official, but he was also an active member of the French Socialist Party (SFIO[2]). Since Cambodia was still controlled by the French, it was believed the Democratic Party members felt it would be to their advantage to choose Prince Yutevong to head the party for the above reasons. As to the French, they probably felt and hoped that Prince Yutevong would still be friendly to France because he went to French school, worked for French government, and served as a Delegate for the French Union. In this fashion the French could still control both parties.

Prince Yutevong and the Democrats were fighting the French, considered at the time to be enemy of the Khmer people. But it was acceptable to the democrats that their leader was married to a French woman. Why wasn't this a case of sleeping with the enemy?

The first election in 1946 provided the Democrats with a majority in the assembly. Prince Yutevong was the main architect who drafted the Khmer Constitution modeled after the French Fourth Republic. It was ironic that the Democrats wanted to divorce from France but at the same time they wanted to create a Khmer Constitution modeled after the French. Did the Democrats design it this way as not to antagonize the French? How can France object to this constitution since it was modeled after her country? After the Constitution had been completed, the power was now in the hand of the National Assembly. Prince Yutevong, who had been until now a minor prince, suddenly realized that he would become more powerful than the king. On 6 May 1947 the king proclaimed the birth of the new Khmer Constitution. The king realized that his role as a monarch was greatly reduced, stripped much of his power.

With the Democratic Party victory, Prince Yutevong became President of the Council of Ministers, meaning he was Prime Minister of Cambodia. In addition to his position as Prime Minister, he also kept the post of Minister of Interior to himself. Why would someone who espoused democracy want to retain the two most important positions for himself? Why didn't the prince appoint somebody else to the post of Minister of Interior? What was the reason behind Prince Yutevong’s thinking? Did he not trust some of the people who worked around him?

It seemed that with their success, the Democratic Party would be strong and happy. On the contrary, the success spoiled the Democrats and clashes within the party were occurring constantly. Were there jealousies among the Democrats fighting for important positions within the newly formed government? Prince Yutevong did not live long enough to enjoy the Democrats' victory because he died on 17 July 1947. Speculations on the death of the prince at such an early age and on the height of his success ran rampant. How did he die so young? Was there any sign of him being sick or contracting some kind of illness? Did the French poison him or did the Democrats themselves have anything to do with his death? Who would benefit the most about Prince Yutevong's death? The mystery surrounding his death had not been satisfactorily resolved.

After the death of Prince Yutevong, the Democratic Party elected the grandson of King Sisowath, Prince Sisowath Vachhayavong, to be Prime Minister from 25 July 1947 to 20 February 1948. Afterward, the party elected Chhean Vam to succeed Prince Sisowath Vachhayavong. However, due to some infightings, the Prime Minister found his power insufficient and could not get things done. He asked for more power but it was turned down. Immediately, Chhean Vam was overthrown on that issue in 14 August 1948. Penn Nouth was elected as the next Prime Minister. He did not remain long at the head of his cabinet because Yem Sambaur, a former member of the Democratic Party, accused Penn Nouth of corruption. Yem Sambaur had left the Democratic Party to form his own minority grouping. Inexplicably, Yem Sambaur was chosen as the next Prime Minister on 12 February 1949 to replace Penn Nouth. How could this happen since the Democratic Party had the majority of the vote? The only reason this curious event could be explained was that the members of the Democratic Party became jealous of each other and preferred to see somebody from the outside instead of one of their own becoming Prime Minister.

After Yem Sambaur became Prime Minister, the Democrats started to have second thought and they finally passed a motion of censure against the Prime Minister. The nature of the censure was not clear. Because of this action, on 18 September 1949 King Norodom Sihanouk dissolved the National Assembly and signed a treaty with France granting some independence for Cambodia.

The treaty granted Khmer people most of administrative functions within Cambodia. In addition, the provinces of Battambang and Siemreap that the French recovered from the Thai were given to the Cambodian government for self-governing rule with its own armed forces without any French interference. This was called the autonomous zone, similar to the autonomous zone of Pailin that Hun Sen granted to the remnants of Khmer Rouge. However, on matters of foreign policy, the Cambodian government had to coordinate its actions and decision making with the French Union. The French retained most of the judicial systems, finances, and customs. Outside Battambang and Siemreap, France retained military operations. The reason the French wanted to retain military operations on other parts of Cambodia was because they felt more of a threat coming from Vietnam than Thailand, a threat that could break the French Union.

According to the Constitution at the time, in the event of the dissolution of the National Assembly, the President of the Assembly would become the chief executive pending the holding of new elections. At the time, Ieu Koeuss [3] was President of the Assembly. Unfortunately, he was assassinated in January 1950. Theories abounded on who assassinated Ieu Koeuss. Some claimed it was Yem Sambaur himself who had a hand behind the whole affair while some pointed the fingers at Prince Norindeth. However, this case had never been resolved and still remains a mystery to this day.

Because of the death of the President of the National Assembly, the king reappointed Yem Sambaur to succeed himself as Prime Minister. This action had made the Democrats very upset since the elections would now be postponed. Because of this turn of event that sent Cambodia into turmoil, the king began to consider the possibility of modifying the Constitution. He wanted the Assembly to be a consultative body and shifting the power of ratification to the king. According to the Constitution, any amendments would require a three-fourth vote of the Assembly. Since the body had been dissolved, on October 1951 the king appealed to the heads of political parties to amend the Constitution. Both Democrats and Liberals opposed any constitutional changes that would decrease the power of the Assembly.

What saved the Democratic Party was its unity opposing King Norodom Sihanouk's legislations as well as his appointments of new cabinet members. The Democrats continued to oppose all policies made by the king, making his life miserable. No matter what the king did, the Democrats would contest and oppose him. A new election was held in September 1951 and again, the Democrats won the majority with fifty-four out of seventy-eight seats. The Liberal Party obtained eighteen seats while the rest went to the remaining parties. On October 1951, Huy Kanthoul became Prime Minister, and immediately a serious deadlock developed in Khmer-French relations as the Democrats went into almost absolute opposition to the French authorities. Two more Prime Ministers succeeded Yem Sambaur prior to Huy Kanthoul becoming Prime Ministers. Prince Sisowath Monipong, the son of King Monivong, became Prime Minister from 1 June 1950 to 3 march 1951 and Oum Chheang Sun succeeded Prince Monipong until 12 October 1951.

To counter balance the popularity of the Democrats, the king asked the French to release Son Ngoc Thanh from his house arrest in France. Son Ngoc Thanh returned to Cambodia with great triumph on 29 October 1951. Huy Kanthoul, who was Prime Minister, offered Son Ngoc Thanh a position in his cabinet but this latter turned down the offer because he expected the position of Prime Minister to be handed to him. Son Ngoc Thanh founded a weekly newspaper called Khmer Krauk (Khmer Awake), incessantly attacking the French Union. Pending rumor of an imminent arrest, Son Ngoc Thanh fled Phnom Penh and joined the Khmer Issarak.

There were people who accused King Norodom Sihanouk of dictatorship or of being an unconstitutional monarch. The people who made those accusations did not study the facts properly. The king had properly exercised his power as the Constitution had demanded. The reason he wanted to change the Constitution may be in part for self-interest, but also to prevent the same type of chaotic situation that happened during this tumultuous time. He followed the Constitution by going through the motion of Assembly vote to make amendment to the Constitution. He was exercising his democratic right and obeying the Constitution. We must not be quick to judge the king's action without properly understanding the events in Khmer politics.

The government of Huy Kanthoul found itself confronting with the problem of arresting people involving in flyers' distribution. The Dap Chhuon's party of Eysan Mean Chey (Dap Chhuon remained in Siemreap) with Mao Chhoy representing the party in Phnom Penh started to distribute flyers and created a chaotic situation in Phnom Penh. Prime Minister Huy Kanthoul issued an arrest warrant for people like Lon Nol and Yem Sambaur. Sim Var was the Chief of police at the time. Lon Nol was later released but Yem Sambaur was put in a house arrest at Banteay Cheung Khmao located near the Cine Lux movie theater. The arrest of Lon Nol and the semi-incarceration of a former Prime Minister of Cambodia made the situation in Cambodia dangerously explosive. Sensing the situation in Cambodia getting out of control, the king dismissed the government of Huy Kanthoul and on 13 January 1953 he dissolved the National Assembly and declared martial law.

The king was very in tune to the wish of the Khmer population, which was to obtain full independence from France. To avoid the situation in Cambodia from deteriorating further, King Sihanouk decided in March 1953 to go to France and asked the French President to grant complete independence to Cambodia. The French government turned a deaf ear to King Sihanouk's demand and accused the king of being too alarmist. Additionally, the French were threatening to replace the king if he continued to be in an uncooperative mood.

Khmer Democrats and Khmer Issarak had made the Khmer independence a national issue, but King Sihanouk took it a step farther. After the French refusal to King Sihanouk's demand on Khmer independence, he decided to elevate the Khmer struggle against the French to the international level. King Sihanouk decided to risk his future as king of Cambodia by campaigning against the French. The meeting with the French government was a failure. Therefore, instead of going home directly from France, the king made a brilliant political decision by stopping in the United States, Canada, and Japan to publicize his "royal crusade for independence." It was a bold move by the king, because his action could trigger the French to replace him as king of Cambodia with another prince.

To put the French in a corner, in June 1953, the king declared that he would take a self-imposed exile in Thailand and would not return to Phnom Penh unless the French granted full independence to Cambodia. The Thai government did not cooperate with the king and did not welcome his stay in Bangkok. Why did the Thai government that supported the Khmer Issarak refused to also support King Norodom Sihanouk for the same cause, which was to restore Cambodia to full independence from the French? The Thai probably thought they had the Khmer Issaraks under their allegiance but could not extract the same thing from King Norodom Sihanouk. Since the king was not welcomed in Thailand, he decided to establish his headquarters in the autonomous zone in Siemreap. It was at this time that the bond between King Norodom Sihanouk and Lieutenant Colonel Lon Nol was formed. Lon Nol commanded the autonomous zone of Siemreap, established in 1949 by the French agreement.

The whole Indochina was in turmoil. From their base in Siemreap, King Sihanouk and Lon Nol resisted and fought the French. The Khmer Issaraks were also giving the French a lot of troubles. Finally on 3 July 1953, the French declared they were ready to discuss the full independence status of Cambodia. The king insisted on his own terms, demanding total control of Cambodia in four main areas: National Defense, Police, Judiciary, and Finance. The French agreed to the demands and King Sihanouk returned to Phnom Penh with great triumph. The Khmer Independence Day was proclaimed on November 9, 1953.

There is no denial that everybody played a part for Khmer independence, but King Norodom Sihanouk must be hailed as the main architect who obtained Khmer independence from France. The king was a brilliant and daring politician in his maneuvers with the French government. The king was undaunted in his pursuit of Khmer independence. The road to Khmer independence was a tumultuous one and it must not be forgotten. As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary of Independence, we must renew our faith to keep Cambodia independent and free from any foreign influence into our national affairs. The title proclaiming “Norodom Sihanouk as Father of Khmer Independence” is very appropriate and well deserving for our aging monarch.

[1] Prince Yutevong was the product of an incestuous grandparent. His grandfather, Prince Bhumarin, married his own sister, Princess Thnamvong, and produced the only child, Prince Chamraenvongs, which was the father of Prince Yutevong. Traditionally speaking, Prince Yutevong should not be a Sisowath. It is not clear how Prince Yutevong obtained Sisowath as his last name. It had been speculated that his parents wanted to take advantage of the linear linkage with King Sisowath who ascended the throne in 1904. Prince Yutevong who was born in 1913 was the son of Prince Chamraenvongs, a great-grandson of King Ang Chan II (different branch from King Ang Duong), and of Princess Sisowath Yubhiphan, the daughter of Sisowath Essaravong, with this latter being the oldest son of King Sisowath. Because Sisowath became king of Cambodia in 1904, Prince Yutevong's parents may have decided that their children should use their mother's last name, Sisowath, as their family last name. That kind of action was unprecedented in the history of Khmer royalty. Based on the above speculation, the direction of Prince Yutevong to be the leader of the Democratic Party was not by chance but by design. His opposition to King Norodom Sihanouk was a voluntary choice tacitly supported by the Sisowath's. The Sisowath felt cheated by the French for putting a Norodom on the throne. They felt that Prince Sisowath Monireth should have been the heir to the throne, following King Monivong's death. Since that time, the Sisowaths and the Norodoms have constantly been in tension with each other.

[2] SFIO (Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière) was founded in 1905. At the 1920 SFIO convention in Tours, France, the majority of the members decided to found the SFIC (Section Française de l'Internationale Communiste), which later became PCF (Parti Communiste Français). Even though SFIO has been weakened by the PCF it still has great influence over the workers (source: http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/ france/fr/instit/instit09.html)

[3] A personal interview with Chhuom Chhiet, an active member of the Democratic Party and who was also in charge of arresting Lon Nol and Yem Sambaur, revealed an interesting tale. He heard that a few days before his assassination, Iev Koeuss met with King Sihanouk and told him that he was going to quit his political life and retire to Battambang.

Cambodian People’s Party should be Magnanimous

2008-06-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

Op-Ed by Jayakhmer

www.modernprogressivekhmer.blogspot.com

Based on a simple majority requirement to form a government and divided opposition parties, it is highly likely that Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) will win the July 27^th election.

Although the constitutional amendment to change the requirement from a super majority to a simple majority to form a government will allow a political party or parties to form a government easier than it was it the past, post election crisis will be there if the election is perceived to be not free and fair.

Therefore, CPP should be magnanimous by making sure that the election is free fair. This means CPP should stay clear from the National Election Committee (NEC) and the international observers so that they can truly be independent.

NEC and the international observers must make sure that electoral process is transparent, that political parties and the candidates have equal media and orderly election campaign, that the election is free of fear and intimation, and that there is no misuse of government facilities for campaign purposes.

In past elections although CPP has not won decisively, it has been managing to control the government since the first election.

In 1993, CPP won 51 seats second to National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful, and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) won the most with 58 seats. Since it was required 81 seats to form a government, CPP with skilled political maneuvering managed to become equal partner with FUNCINPEC.

CPP narrowly won the election in 1998 with 64 seats in front of the backdrop of two important events preceded the election -the grenade attack on peaceful rally near the National Assembly in March that resulted in at least 16 people were killed and many injured and the ‘coupe’ of July 1997 also resulted many killings. The atmosphere of fear and intimidation certainly were there. CPP and FUNCINPEC, then, formed a coalition when Prince Norodom Ranariddh accepted the compromise by allowing the former Co-Prime Minister Hun Sen as Prime Minister and Prince Norodom Ranariddh as President of the National Assembly.

The election of 2003 gave CPP a stronger hand of 73 seats out of 123. FUNCINPEC won only 26 seats was markedly weaker than the last two elections when it captured 53 seats in 1993 and 43 seats in 1998. Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) showed an improvement by receiving 24 seats jumping from the 1998 election when it captured 15 seats.

Since no political party captured the 2/3 majority necessary to form a government, it took 11 months of political maneuvering and negotiating to reach an agreement. The crisis after each election prompted scholars and politicians to re-think about the existing formula of super majority requirement.

In 2006, in the spirit of rapprochement with Prime Minister Hun Sen who agreed to settle political conflicts Sam Rainsy after his self-impose exile in France, the opposition leader proposed an amendment to the constitution that allows a government to be formed with a simple majority. The proposal was too good that CPP could not refuse.

Besides the simple majority requirement, CPP will highly like to win this coming election partly because of the opposition parties are not united. Although SRP has shown sign of improvement in the 2003 elections by gaining 9 seats more than it had in the 1998 election, it has a long way to go to capture a simple majority.

SRP has to swallow its pride by taking a critical look at its internal structure and even considering of changing the party’s name so that other can join without losing their party identity. SRP must do what it takes to unite with of all other opposition parties if it hopes to capture a simple majority.

Human Rights Party has no track record and is too new that made it hard to gage as to what impact it will have on the coming election. Based on the last election CPP only captured 47% of the total votes. This means the new requirement of simple majority will give a united opposition party a chance to win this election if and only if they work together.

Thus far, there is no sign of a united opposition party – not now or any time soon.

Hun Sen eyes extension of long-running rule in Cambodia with opposition divided

2008-06-01T07:28:00.001-07:00

The Associated Press

Published: June 1, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Although 11 parties are geared to fight it out in Cambodia's upcoming national elections, the contest is all but certain to be a one-horse race.

No one seems to have any doubt that Prime Minister Hun Sen, who at age 57 is Asia's longest-serving head of government, will retain his stranglehold over the country's politics. Least of all himself.

"I wish to state it very clearly this way: No one can defeat Hun Sen. Only Hun Sen alone can defeat Hun Sen," he said in a speech earlier this year.

Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party began almost three decades ago as a communist party that headed a single-party state. But as Cambodia changed into a multiparty democracy, so did the party evolve, and proved itself the master of the field.

Today Hun Sen — once a member of the ultra-leftist Khmer Rouge — is crowing that he will bring the country boundless riches thanks to offshore oil discovered by an ultra-capitalist American oil company, Chevron.

In an hour-long speech at a recent development conference, he unequivocally told the audience he'll remain in power long enough to manage the expected windfall from the black gold, sometime in the next decade.

He spoke as if he had already won a new five-year term in office, though balloting won't be held until July 27. More than 8 million out of Cambodia's 14 million people are eligible to vote, according the elections committee.

An oil bonanza would further bolster Hun Sen's already unchallenged stature at the expense of the country's democratic freedoms, analysts say.

Once oil production starts, Hun Sen will find it easier to ignore the pressures to liberalize from foreign aid donors — on which the country is now still heavily reliant — and will instead curb freedom of expression, assembly and the press, said Lao Mong Hay, a senior researcher at the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission.

Elections have become a "veneer of democracy," he said, adding that Hun Sen's expected victory would further empower "the present oligarchy composed of people in power and tycoons."

Through guile and threat, Hun Sen has run Cambodia since 1985, when he became prime minister of a Vietnamese-installed communist government.

A peasant's son, he has intimidated, outsmarted and co-opted his rivals, including those who have spent decades being versed in Western education and democracy.

For years, Cambodia was wracked by civil war between the government and the Khmer Rouge guerrillas, whose 1975-79 "killing fields" regime left some 1.7 million Cambodians dead.

A U.N.-sponsored peace process led to 1993 elections that Hun Sen's party lost — but he managed to muscle his way into the government anyway as co-prime minister.

Less than four years later, he ousted his coalition partner when their rivalry turned violent and his forces emerged victorious after a few days of bloody fighting in and around the capital. His party easily won elections in 1998 over a divided opposition and hasn't lost a poll since. It now holds 73 of the 123 seats in the lower house of parliament.

Hun Sen has also presided over the fast growth of the economy, which remains small by international standards.

Having run the country for three decades, his party has built a firm grass-roots apparatus and can draw on financial wealth unmatched by its opponents. Supporters include some of the country's wealthiest tycoons, who regularly dole out cash to finance rural projects such as schools and roads, often named after Hun Sen.

The party has just three credible rivals, one named after and led by opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

The two other main parties are led by Kem Sokha, a former human rights activist, and Prince Norodom Ranariddh, whose former party booted him out for alleged incompetence — in part because of some political shenanigans orchestrated by Hun Sen's side.

But because the three parties lack a united strategy and instead pursue their own separate agendas for votes, they are unlikely to loosen the grip of Hun Sen's party, said Kuol Panha, director of Comfrel, an independent Cambodian election monitoring group.

"The imbalance will weigh heavier toward the ruling party. It can prevail at whim with its great strength due to the divided voices among the non-ruling parties," he said.

He said Cambodia's electoral environment is still far from free and fair, with the ruling party enjoying unfettered access to state resources and the tightly controlled broadcast media.

During the past few months, TV and radio stations have flooded the airwaves with coverage of Hun Sen and party colleagues inaugurating rural roads, schools and Buddhist pagodas — financed by cronies — and welcoming deserters from the Sam Rainsy Party.

Sam Rainsy acknowledges that Hun Sen's advantage of controlling the levers of state power make it "very difficult" for opposition parties.

"There's no strong kid on the block," to challenge Hun Sen's grip, said Chea Vannath, an independent analyst and former director of the Center for Social Development, a nonprofit social study group.

"I'm sure the ruling party will stay in power for quite awhile — with or without the oil money," she said.

Survey of Cambodian Public Opinion

2008-05-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

IRI

Detailed Methodology

• Face-to-face interviews were conducted January 27 – February 26, 2008, by the Center for Advanced
Studies based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
• The sample size of 2,000 is representative for Cambodian population older than 18 by gender, age,
education and province. (Demographics are detailed on following slides)
• Respondents were disqualified if they or any member of their family was employed as a journalist or editor
in one of the media outlets; an employee of a political party; a member of municipal or town council,
provincial assembly or national parliament; a member of municipal, town or provincial government; an
employee of one of the ministries, the government or the parliament; an employee of a public relations
agency or marketing agency; or an employee of an agency or institute for marketing and public opinion
researchresearch.
• The poll surveyed a nationwide random, three-stage stratified Simple Random Sampling Without
Replacement sample. In the first stage, the sample was stratified by 22 provinces. In the second stage,
the sample was further stratified by household. In the third stage, the sample was stratified by gender.

Please click here to read the survey....

Where is Cambodia’s anti-corruption law

2008-05-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

By LAO MONG HAYColumn: Rule by Fear

UPI Asia Online

Hong Kong, China — On May 16, 2006, a petition with over 1 million signatures and thumbprints was presented to the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, calling on the assembly to urgently enact an anti-corruption law. The sheer number of people –one out of every 14 Cambodians – who supported the petition campaign with their signature or thumbprint in a period of just over five months, revealed the gravity of corruption in the country and the urgent need for government leaders and lawmakers to take action.
Corruption in Cambodia was already rife, affecting every walk of life, toward the end of the communist regime in the late 1980s. It was and still is prevalent in every public institution everywhere and at every level: in schools, hospitals, fire services, the police, the army, the civil service, the judiciary, the government and the Parliament. It has also ravaged foreign aid given to the country.
In the early 1990s when the communist regime ended, the public called on the government to tackle the problem. In the mid-1990s, civil society began to organize seminars to highlight the issue and urge the government to enact an anti-corruption law. Many national seminars were held, at times presided over by prime ministers or their colleagues, not to mention many smaller meetings.
There were study tours for concerned senior government officials and lawmakers to countries in the region, including Singapore and Hong Kong, both of which are renowned for their effective anti-corruption laws and agencies. In 1998, the newly elected government promised to fight corruption and enact a law against it.
For their part, international donors began to feel the gravity of corruption and its negative impact on the aid they had given to Cambodia, to the tune of some US$500 million a year since the early 1990s. In 2002, together with the Cambodian government, they made the fight against corruption and the enactment of an anti-corruption law one of the benchmarks for the flow of aid.
Under such pressure the government finally submitted to the National Assembly an anti-corruption bill – which had been drafted and redrafted many times, well before the adoption of the U.N. Convention against Corruption in 2003.
Shortly after, this bill was withdrawn, to be redrafted again to bring it up to the convention’s standards. Meanwhile, deadlines set for the enactment of that law have repeatedly passed and the final draft has not yet seen the light of day.
In parallel with the pressure on the government to enact an anti-corruption law, successive studies were undertaken to look into corruption in Cambodia. A 2004 study conducted by the U.S. Agency for International Development in Cambodia showed that corruption cost the government between US$300 million and $500 million in revenue every year, an enormous sum for a poor country.
Another survey conducted two years later by the Economic Institute of Cambodia in Phnom Penh showed that in 2005 the private sector paid “unofficial fees”—that is, bribes – to public officials amounting to US$330 million, an amount it said was “2.5 times higher than that of official payment” and “represented also about 50 percent of the total government budget revenue in 2005.”
A more recent survey conducted by Transparency International showed that 72 percent of Cambodians reported paying a bribe to receive a public service in 2007, a percentage which was then the highest in the Asia-Pacific region and second only to Cameroon (79 percent) internationally. The same survey also showed that the judiciary and the police were viewed as the most corrupt institutions in the country. It should be added that in 2007 Cambodia ranked 162 out 179 countries in the TI Corruption Perceptions Index.
Corruption has affected not only the Cambodian people but also foreign donors on whom Cambodia very much depends. In 1999 there was a corruption scandal at the Cambodian Mine Action Center, an internationally funded government landmine clearance organization. That scandal led to the suspension of foreign aid to CMAC for some time.
In 2003, the World Bank discovered the misuse of funds in a project to demobilize 30,000 soldiers, and forced the Cambodian government to repay the missing money. In 2004, the World Food Program found that US$1.2 million of its aid had gone missing, and forced the Cambodian government to make up for it. In 2006, the World Bank discovered fraud and corruption in three of the projects it was funding. It suspended its funding for these three projects and requested the Cambodian government to make prompt repayment of the missing funds.
In early 2007, within six months after its creation, the internationally funded Khmer Rouge Tribunal encountered allegations of corruption in its human resource management. These allegations led to the introduction of corrective measures for better management.
These are a few of the cases known to the public and acknowledged by the government. Yet in all corruption cases very few, if any, suspected government officials have been brought to justice and made accountable for their corruption. Generally, they have simply been disciplined and removed from office and then, when their cases are no longer in the public mind, they have been reappointed to other, sometimes higher, positions.
Enacting an anti-corruption law and setting up an anti-corruption body may not end what is a common practice in Cambodia. It is nevertheless a significant step toward that end. The Cambodian government must not let its officials indulge in corruption with impunity. It must not continue to break its promises to its people and its foreign donors. It must heed the petition presented to the National Assembly and submit the long promised anti-corruption bill for adoption without further delay.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)

We will govern alone: Cambodian PM Hun Sen

2008-05-27T16:54:00.001-07:00

www.chinaview.cn

PHNOM PENH, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has confidently announced that his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) will govern alone after the national election, controlling the National Assembly (NA) without the need for coalition partners, local media reported Tuesday.

Hun Sen's ambiguous statement was thought to be aimed at Sam Rainsy, who said during the 2003 national election campaign that he would not form a coalition government with Hun Sen, the Mekong Times newspaper said.

"The NA can have him, but he won't be there in the government," Hun Sen said, adding that the newly introduced "50 percent plus one" majority voting formula had made it much easier for one party alone to form a government.

Hun Sen also said no leadership positions in NA commissions will be given to parties other than the CPP, the newspaper said.

He claimed that past attempts to install members of other parties as NA commissions chairmen had failed as "they acted as opposition and did not fulfill their duty as chairmen."

He said the CPP is already prepared to take over the NA commissions, with CPP members already at the head of five of the nine commissions.

Editor: Amber Yao

Report Says Cambodia Media Subject to Political Pressures, Bias

2008-05-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Policemen escort Cambodian radio station director Mam Sonando, left to court of appeals in Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh (2005 File)

www.voanews.com

By Rory Byrne
Phnom Penh
27 May 2008

With just two months to go before a general election in Cambodia, a report on the news media says that local journalists regularly face interference from the business and political elite. It says journalists work in a climate of fear in Cambodia and that there is impunity for those who threaten or kill them, allegations the government rejects. Rory Byrne has more from Phnom Penh.

The report found that over half of Cambodian journalists live in fear of physical or legal attack. Most say they are pressured to cover stories with a political bias.

"They have political bias because the conditions that they work push them to do that, you know, because their newspaper were supported by one political party, but mostly the ruling party," said Kek Galabru, the president of Licadho, the Cambodian rights group that produced the report.

All of Cambodia's television stations, and the bulk of its radio stations, are owned by people close to the ruling Cambodian People's Party. Galabru says the owners use those outlets to gain political advantage.

"Concerning the electronic media - the government controls (it) very tightly," Galabru noted. "They know that it makes a big impact on the public opinion. There is no single one - concerning television - that belongs to (an) independent voice."

With the election in July, campaign observers complain about what they call excessive pro-government content on the airwaves. Koul Panha is heads the Committee for Free and Fair Elections.

"The election process in Cambodia [does] not reach to international standard [for a] free and fair election," Panha said. "The key measure of importance is the media - equal access to the media. But in the Cambodian context it's not like that - you can see the TV - 84 percent of political coverage is still in favor to the ruling party."

The minister of information, Khieu Kanharith, denies that the media favors the government.

"You know the people criticizing this, or assert these allegations, most of the time they are not really journalists," Kanharith said. "They don't understand the job or sometimes they didn't listen to the radio or watch the TV. And if everyone can read Khmer, or listen [to] Khmer, they know well that we have real freedom here."

The Licadho report also says there is little risk for those who threaten or kill journalists.

"We found at least nine that were killed for their work and none of the perpetrators was brought to justice so it sends a very strong message that there is impunity for the one that wants to attack the journalists," Galabru said.

The government disputes the number of journalists killed and denies that killers go unpunished.

"They say nine were killed - are you sure they got killed? Two or three - traffic accident," Kanharith said. "When you are a journalist killed it doesn't mean politically killed. When [Prime Minister] Hun Sen's brother was killed, until now also we couldn't find the murderer. Nobody says 'Why don't you go to find Hun Sen's brothers killer?'"

The minister says journalists can, and do, write and say what they want, including attacking Prime Minister Hun Sen.

"If you [are] scared you cannot accuse Hun Sen of being a Vietnamese puppet, as a thief, as the most corrupt family or anything. Read the newspaper, listen to the radio - you can see it. If they [are] really scared, how you can put it?" Kanharith asked.

Rights activists, however, say that critical voices find it hard to get heard in Cambodia. Koul Panha of the Committee for Free and Fair Elections says the authorities should do more to ensure fair access to the media.

"The Cambodian government, and the National Electoral Commission must make more effort to encourage the state media and the private media [to] open [themselves] to all political parties," said Panha. "If they can do that they will contribute a lot to the improved election environment and electoral process in Cambodia."

The Licadho report calls on the government to pass a law guaranteeing the electronic media's independence. It also calls for abolishing prison sentences for defamation, misinformation and incitement, and for media owners to increase salaries for journalists to make them less susceptible to bribery.

Norodom Sihanouk vs. Khmer Republican: Please Keep On Fighting

2008-05-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

Op Ed by Jayakhmer

www.modernprogressivekhmer.blogspot.com

Recently, a barrage of posts of HM Norodom Sihanouk published on KI Media. From the contents of these posts, it appears that that the relentless and pernicious attacks by those who hate the former king finally get under his skin.

The fight between the former king and some Khmer Republicans may go on for perpetuity.

Please keep on fighting because both sides are free to do so but understand that this fight won’t do a thing for those who are suffering from social, political, and economic injustice that go on in Cambodia right now. What an excellent way to exercise your freedom!!!

In the final analysis, ordinary people normally ended up as the biggest losers.

I am dumbfounded over the fact that both sides are more than eager to duke it out over these retroactive issues.

The decades of tensions:

In 1955, when the former monarch desired to be a legitimate leader of the nation due to his kingship was given by the French in 1941 by abdicating the thrown and creating Sangkum Reastr Niyum, he did it despite by those who were closed to him pleaded not to so. The former king did and won the election handedly. Not to mention, the fact the oppositions were intimidated, harassed, and threatened to the point that many did not go out to vote to be safe.

In March of 1970, the table was turned. Khmer Republican put an end to Sangkum Reastr Niyum. Sangkum Reastr Niyum to Norodom Sihanouk’s credit gave Khmer people a glimpse of what Cambodia could be as a self-sustained and independent nation. By the time Khmer Republic decided on what new government structure to adopt, the country by now was deeply mired in the Indochina War that was too enormous for Cambodia to handle. Ordinary people could not wait for the war to end hoping that the country would return to peace and tranquility. They could not be further from the truth.

The former king joined the Khmer Rouge, I surmise, because he wanted to win the Khmer Republican much more than he loved the communists. In order to restore his honor, the Khmer Rouge with the supports from China gave him the best chance to achieve that end. The content of his recent posts clearly reflected the former king’s on going bitterness with the Khmer Republican.

In 1975, the former king again returned to Cambodia as a victor along with the Khmer Rouge. Except the Khmer Rouge once seized the power had a different agenda. Consequently, ordinary people were the biggest losers. From 1975 to 1979, nearly 3 million Khmer died during this worst regime in world’s history among modern governments.

In 1993 after a long peace process, Cambodia held its first UN sponsored election. If there was any question or any doubt about the former king popularity and legitimacy, the election unequivocally answered the question and erased all doubts. Norodom Sihanouk was once again ascended to the thrown as King of Cambodia when the Khmer people voted for change and by giving FUNCINPEC the most votes in the national assembly.

What his majesty the former king and FUNCINPEC did with the victory was quite a different story. Some may argue and perhaps rightly so that 1993 could have been the golden opportunity to build a true democratic foundation for Cambodia. But that is entirely a different topic.

The funny thing is while the battle between the former king and Khmer Republican continues until each side no longer exists; the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) continues to win election after election.

It is nice for the victor to claim moral victory over this peripheral issue, but winning while the country goes down the drain, is this worth winning?

Public Notice

2008-05-22T16:07:00.001-07:00

Expanding the "war" in order to end it: What Cambodia & Iran have in common

2008-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

by Jane Stillwater

http://www.opednews.com

Did you know that Richard M. Nixon was elected to the US presidency in 1968 on a platform that claimed he would end the war on Vietnam? It's true. And what did Nixon do once he was safely elected? He broke his promise, escalated the war on Vietnam and then went on to bomb Cambodia! "Why did you bomb Cambodia?" the press asked Mr. Nixon.

"I bombed Cambodia in order to end the war in Vietnam," Nixon replied. And did bombing Cambodia end the war on Vietnam? Absolutely! The total outrage engendered throughout Southeast Asia by Nixon's merciless killing of approximately 150,000 Cambodians inspired the Viet Cong and the Khmer Rouge to fight even harder and the local civilian population to support them and to eventually hand America its greatest military defeat ever. Yep, Nixon's Cambodia bombing campaign DID end the Vietnam war.

According to Taylor Owen and Ben Kiernan of the Yale Genocide Project, "The Cambodian bombing campaign had two unintended side effects that ultimately combined to produce the very domino effect that the Vietnam War was supposed to prevent. First, the bombing forced the Vietnamese Communists deeper and deeper into Cambodia, bringing them into greater contact with Khmer Rouge insurgents. Second, the bombs drove ordinary Cambodians into the arms of the Khmer Rouge, a group that seemed initially to have slim prospects of revolutionary success."

Did you know that George W. Bush is now planning to do the exact same thing to Iran that Nixon did to Cambodia? Apparently Bush is now vowing to attack Iran in order to expand the war on Iraq in order to end it. "Because Iran is aiding and abetting our enemies in Iraq, we are justified in attacking Iran as a matter of self-defense."

Also, according to Fox News, former UN Ambassador and Bush administration insider John Bolton recently stated that, "the situation that our forces face in Iraq now is that they are being attacked, they are in danger from Iranian-lead, financed, trained and equipped terrorists." When asked if Bush would invade Iran before the end of his term, Bolton responded, "I think so, definitely."

We've definitely got some de-ja Voo happening here.

And will the results of Bush's plans to bomb Iran be the same as the results of Nixon's plans to bomb Cambodia? Do we really want to risk finding out?

Tranquil temple at centre of a storm

2008-05-22T08:45:00.001-07:00

BBC News

By Philippa Fogarty

The view from the top of Preah Vihear temple is well worth the steamy, uphill trek to get there.
Stone steps and paths lead visitors through a series of ancient entranceways to the carved sanctuary high in the Dangrek mountain range.
Look one way and a Thai flag flies on a distant rocky outcrop. Turn the other way and the cliffs fall sharply down to the blue-green Cambodian jungle below.
At the top, the only sound is of cicadas and dragonflies. Lower down, in a market with a frontier feel to it, vendors sell gems and rare animal parts.
Things were good these days, one vendor said. The temple was open and visitors were coming. "The war is over," he smiled.
But the temple has not always been so accessible, or so peaceful.
Bullet holes scar one stone wall, while to the side of another stands a rusting artillery gun. Further down, both Cambodian and Thai guards maintain a low-key presence.
These are reminders that bitter battles have dominated Preah Vihear's recent history - and that one of them is still being fought today.
Court ruling
Preah Vihear was built mainly in the 11th and 12th centuries when the Khmer empire was at its height, its construction ordered by the kings that commissioned the temples of Angkor.

In pictures: Ancient temple
According to Sanskrit inscriptions, it was called Sri Sikharisvara, meaning Glorious Lord of the Mountain - a dedication to the Hindu god Shiva.
It sits on a mountain-top promontory, facing north towards Thailand. The main access comes from the Thai side, because of the sheer cliffs behind it.
Cambodian ownership of the temple was first formally established in boundary settlements between its colonial ruler, France, and Siam, as Thailand was then known, a century ago.
A joint commission in 1904 set the border between the two countries atop the Dangrek mountain range - but its subsequent map, in 1907, put Preah Vihear in Cambodia.
In 1954, shortly after Cambodia achieved independence, Thai forces occupied the temple. In response, Cambodia took its case to the international courts.
Thai authorities argued that as the border was supposed to follow the watershed line of the mountains, the temple was theirs. They had not challenged the map, they said, because their access to the site gave them de facto control over it.

But the court ruled against Thailand and in 1962, the Thai troops withdrew.
More trouble was in store for Preah Vihear as conflict engulfed Cambodia.
With its hill-top location, it was the last place to fall to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Four years later, when a Vietnamese invasion swept the Maoist regime from power, it was one of the strongholds to which the Khmer Rouge retreated.
Years of fighting followed. Government forces managed to reopen the temple briefly in 1992, but Khmer Rouge guerrillas soon seized it back. Scores of fighters holed up in reinforced bunkers and held the complex for six more years.
But the Khmer Rouge was on its last legs, its leaders dead or defected.
In December 1998 the commander of the last group of fighters met negotiators at the temple to agree a historic surrender - one that ended three long decades of civil war.

Unesco row
Preah Vihear could finally be reopened. Landmines were cleared and paths made safe.
Visitors began to return, market traders set up stalls and there was talk of much-needed restoration work.

Signs of the temple's Khmer Rouge occupants are everywhere
But the sovereignty row lingered on. In late 2001, Thai troops blocked access for a more than a year in a row over polluted water at the site.
Since then, it has stayed open, but the issue remains extremely sensitive - as Cambodia's application to have Preah Vihear listed as the country's second Unesco World Heritage site has shown.
"Becoming a Unesco World Heritage Site would bring international recognition to the Preah Vihear temple, especially the recognition of its universal value," says Ty Yao, president of Cambodia's National Authority for Preah Vihear.
The added prestige would bring technical assistance from Unesco and other donors, he says, while the listing would formalise Cambodia's obligations in terms of managing and maintaining the site.
It could also be a boon to the tourism industry, Cambodia's second biggest foreign currency earner, particularly given work to improve access from inside Cambodia.

Parts of the temple are in need of restoration work
But there is a problem. Although the international courts settled the row over the temple itself, the surrounding land remains the subject of overlapping territorial claims.
Thailand says it would not object if Cambodia applied to list the temple area only. But it says Cambodia has, in its submission to Unesco, included disputed territory within the listed zone.
It wants both countries to jointly manage the disputed areas until the border is agreed - and last month, sent a formal protest to Cambodia accusing it of deploying troops and mine clearers in a mutually-claimed area.
Senior officials from the two countries are due to meet at Unesco headquarters in Paris today in a bid to iron out the dispute.
"We would like to reach a win-win agreement," The Bangkok Post quoted Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama as saying ahead of the meeting. "We will try to be more flexible."
Preah Vihear is not about to fall down - it has already survived a great deal.
It is a staggeringly beautiful reminder of the area's turbulent past. Perhaps soon it will be known only for this beauty, rather than for the battles fought over it for so many decades.